


Allies and Enemies

by Kaltheinya



Series: Saurian Code Productions Season 2 [10]
Category: Mighty Ducks (animated)
Genre: Close Calls, Explosions, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-11
Updated: 2013-12-06
Packaged: 2018-01-01 05:47:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 37,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1041069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaltheinya/pseuds/Kaltheinya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A sudden attack on Anaheim brings the Ducks and Captain Klegghorn under fire both from Dragaunus and the media. An Anti-Alien movement begins and Klegghorn find himself suspended. Yet there is still a larger battle to take place and neither party is willing to back down from the fight that may result in tragedy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Allies and Enemies: Battles (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Characters of Mighty Ducks belong to Disney. Nightbloom belongs to me. 
> 
> So begins the Season finale... its a three part ending... unless this somehow is too long to post each part as a chapter... Anyhow, like some movies, expect some post credit scenes. (Hint... they'll be in the bottom author's notes. After the notes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A sudden attack on Anaheim brings the Ducks and Captain Klegghorn under fire both from Dragaunus and the media. An Anti-Alien movement begins and Klegghorn find himself suspended. Yet there is still a larger battle to take place and neither party is willing to back down from the fight that may result in tragedy.

Silence reigned over Anaheim as the sky was relatively dark. The bright lights of the city kept the stars from being visible as a cloaked figure stood on top of one of the buildings, looking down at the streets below. Soon they would be crowded with vehicles filled with people on their way to work.

A soft breeze ruffled the cloak, temporarily exposing the grey snout and magenta lips of Nightbloom. Her yellow eyes glowed from under the hood's shadow.

The time was definitely near. The last of her pawns were moving into place, and her hidden ace had relinquished his spot of power, making it easier to find him when she needed him.

And her ultimate prey would fall into her trap.

Off in a distance, smoke began to rise from one of the midsized buildings. A series of small explosions echoed through the air as she could see the flashes climbing up the side of the building.

A few moments later, the sounds of sirens began to resonate through the streets, disrupting the tranquility of predawn. She could make out the different sounds of police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances.

So Dragaunus had finally chosen his moment to strike.

A well calculated plan. And one he did not run by her. A possibility she had overlooked.

At least he figured out that he could create the biggest chaos and confusion by choosing a violent way to rouse the humans from their beds.

She wrapped her cloak around her and dropped some powder. Smoke enveloped her and then she was gone.

X

Siege and Chameleon watched from the building top across the street as humans struggled to make sense of what they were dealing with.

This particular building was a lab and an educational institute, and while there were many interesting toys inside, the Saurians had no need of them.

But the police and the ducks wouldn't know that.

By their blatant use of their small teleportation devices, they knew they would have triggered the alarms at the Ducks' base, forcing them to respond and run into this commotion.

For once, Siege and Chameleon were thrilled with their tasks.

The past few times, Dragaunus had been telling them to battle the ducks but to retreat after filming them for a while. But then their leader had made them watch their battles over and over again. And just a couple days ago, they accidently encountered the ducks.

The fight was quick and chaotic, and Dragaunus had signaled a retreat. Despite the withdrawal, Siege and Chameleon noticed something. Even without their weapons, they felt as if given the chance, they would have stood at an almost equal footing to the ducks.

"Soon," Dragaunus had said.

…Which led to this night.

"Engage and stall the ducks as long as you can. When I send the signal, you can disengage and return here."

"So just the two of us?" Chameleon asked.

"Wraith and I will be busy stealing from another location, so make sure you make the distraction is as big and loud as possible."

Big and loud was exactly what they did. Programming small exploding robots to climb up to the top of the building and enter the air vents, Siege and Chameleon waited on top of the neighboring building just in case the ducks showed up a little earlier than planned.

As it turned out, one of the robots had triggered an alarm, and a couple of police car units arrived to investigate.

The situation couldn't have been more entertaining.

Chameleon had set off some of the lower level robots, causing a fire to break out.

The officers had backed out, calling for assistance.

Their delight grew when they recognized the human cop the ducks seemed to be in good terms with.

It was at that point that Siege decided to let all the robots explode.

It was beautiful.

The explosions ran up the side of the building, and large chunks of concrete began to fall to the ground, raining down on the people below.

Cars were damaged and officers scrambled about, shouting in fear as more officers and firemen began to arrive.

The red headed captain leapt out of his car just as a chunk of concrete landed on top of it.

More sirens could be heard, echoing through the streets. Siege and Chameleon cackled in delight as they used their teleportation devices to bring in more drones.

They would be prepared to offer the biggest, most destructive chaos to keep the ducks and humans busy for as long as Dragaunus needed.

X  
 _"It's almost time."_

_Canard looked at the figure cloaked in the shadows. A faint outline could be seen. But with the lights turned off on the ship, the outline of the figure came from the blank spots in the stars._

_"I don't want to go through with this."_

_"You must. And it won't matter. Come morning… you will forget the plan. But you will set in motion what I need to implement it."_  
  
Canard gasped as he sat up in his bed.

He had been having the same dream these past few nights, and they left him unnerved.

He could make out a female voice, but he could never see her face. And the more he thought about it… the more he wondered if it was a memory.

Because he had no recollection of how he left dimensional limbo. It seemed that one day he was back after what felt like an eternity drifting in nothingness.

He slowly lied back down, heart still racing.

Closing his eyes, he tried to will himself back to sleep.

Alarms blared through the Pond.

Canard rushed out into the main room with Drake One.

"What's going on?" asked Nosedive, rushing out to the central computer, already in battle gear.

"Don't know yet," responded Wildwing, donning on his mask. "To the Migrator!"

Within a couple of minutes, the ducks were tearing their way through the streets towards the directions their systems told them the signals came from.

Upon their arrival, they were stunned to see the devastation before them. It all seemed pointless.

Charging out of their vehicle, they encountered a couple of uniformed cops.

"What are you doing here?" one of them asked, face smeared with ash.

"We got a blip on our radars saying the Saurians are involved."

The other one nodded. "The Captain mentioned you guys might show up."

"Where is he?"

The two officers looked solemn. "We lost communication with the Captain and three teams five minutes ago."

X

Klegghorn coughed as dust settled around him. That last blast had half the building collapsing, crushing the rest of his car flat as well as several others. He lost his means of communications with the field teams.

He reached for his phone to get a hold of headquarters when he spotted one of his men a few feet away, leg pinned down by rubble.

Another officer stumbled into view, coughing and wiping the dirt off his face.

With all the fire, smoke, and the reflections of all the blinking lights against concrete, it was difficult to see where everyone was and how the building was holding up.

Klegghorn waved the dazed officer over and the two of them lifted the chunk of concrete off the officer.

"Head away from the flames," Klegghorn ordered, pointing towards a darker area. "Have you heard from anyone else?"

"Two more teams came through but cut out. It's hard to hear with all this noise. Don't know their status."

"I'll check around for a couple more minutes!"

They could hear more sirens adding to the cacophony of noise.

"And get him to an ambulance!" Klegghorn ordered, recognizing the sound as being a medical transport.

"Yes, sir!"

As the officers hobbled away from the fire, Klegghorn began to call out.

"Can you hear me? Do you guys need help? Head towards the sound of my voice if you can hear me, or away from the fires if you can move!"

Another block of concrete landed next to him.

"Geez Louise!" he exclaimed, scrambling away from the block.

His throat began to burn as he breathed in more smoke. He dropped to the ground as he tried to cough out the ash he could taste at the base of his tongue.

A hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder and hauled him behind a large slat of concrete as lasers started shooting around him.

"Cap, you all right?" Klegghorn recognized the voice as the one belonging to Nosedive coming from his side.

"Yeah, yeah," Klegghorn responded, waving away the hand still on his shoulder. Glancing behind him, he saw that it was Wildwing that had pulled him into cover.

"I've got at least two men still out there," he added.

"Already located all civilians and cops caught in this mess," replied Wildwing, tapping his mask. "The others should have already taken them to safety."

"Canard and Tanya are also checking nearby rooftops for whoever's shooting. So far they've only taken out robots."

Water began to rain down on them.

"Seems the firemen are trying to put out the fires," Nosedive commented, looking up as water beaded down his hair and beak.

A few more lasers shot out and then nothing.

"Now!" shouted Wildwing.

Klegghorn felt Nosedive grab him and haul him up. He was pulled along after him and he didn't resist, knowing that he was most likely following Wildwing who could see through the mess.

A few moments later, he found himself in clean air. Several of his soot covered people rushed over to him to see if he was unhurt.

"What in blazes in going on out there?"

"It seems to be some random attack," Wildwing responded. "According to all alarm readings, nothing was broken into, just destroyed."

"So it's definitely the lizards?"

"Canard and Tanya caught sight of Chameleon and Siege up across the street. They engaged in battle but then they just retreated before the rest could meet up with the other two for back up."

"I don't like this," Klegghorn admitted, looking up at the burning building. "It leaves a bad feeling when there isn't any type of explanation or reason for an attack of this scale."

X

Nightbloom stood in the shadows as Chameleon cackled in delight and bragged about how well Siege's and his decoy went.

Dragaunus laughed as well, ignoring the female completely.

"As for Wraith and I, we acquired the power source needed. We only need one more material to use as conductors and we already know where to find them. Then we'll be able to recreate the dimensional portal and open it to allow the fleet to come in and take over this wretched world!"

Yellow eyes narrowed and the female backed deeper into the shadows, completely disappearing.

X

Klegghorn yawned as he stumbled into the conference room, doughnut in one hand, coffee in the other.

Figures he would be called into this meeting before he had a chance to take a short nap. He only had time to wash his face, but his coat was still carrying the stench of smoke and ash fell off of him at random intervals.

He growled as camera flashes blinded him.

A press conference? His commissioner was obviously trying to make him look like some disheveled incompetent fool by not giving him a proper warning.

Seated at the table in front of all the reporters were Commissioner Lyons and Mayor Winsky, a white haired portly gentlemen with a comb over. To the left of the mayor was an empty seat with his name plaque on it. With a sigh, he made his way to the seat and cautiously sat down.

"Mayor," he said as a greeting.

The white haired man wiped his forehead with a handkerchief.

"Captain. Glad you could join us."

"I was not informed that this was a press conference."

"You weren't?"

"I sent you a memo," Commissioner Lyons said from the side of his mouth, not looking at Klegghorn.

"Must have just missed it," Klegghorn murmured politely, certain that when he returned to his desk he would find the memo that had been delivered just a bit too late.

The mayor stood up and the reporters settled down. "Quiet everyone," he said, silencing the rest of the reporters. "We will answer questions afterwards.

"As mayor of this fabulous city, I just want to say that all available officers are looking into the destruction of the Burgundy's Technological Institute early this morning. Due to the extent of the damages done, we are partnering up with the FBI to aid in the investigations.

"We do have suspects, and due to the nature of these suspects, the attack cannot be defined as a random attack or an act of terrorism.

"Our esteemed Captain Klegghorn responded to the chaos this morning and was able to determine that the aliens associated with the escaped convict Dragaunus were indeed responsible."

The reporters began to murmur, clearly impatient to begin asking their questions.

The mayor cleared his throat and Commissioner Lyons verbally stepped in. "I must admit that some of my teams have been too lax in attempting to locate this menace, relying on our resident aliens to help track down this monster. Of course, this menace exists because they are at war with said aliens- aliens that we have graciously harbored for more than two years. Aliens that we have admired for reasons that should have been best left for our own kind. These ducks that have taken over and renamed our original Frogs… the Mighty Ducks. And therefore, we are setting a motion to revoke the citizenship status of these aliens and forcing them off our planet so that the Saurians follow them off this world."

"Now wait just a minute!" Klegghorn spat out, slamming his hands on the table before him.

The mayor looked at him in shock as Lyons smirked. Reporters stood up, shooting pictures and shouting out questions, most of them directed at Klegghorn and the mayor.

Klegghorn ignored them all as he stared down at his superior.

He may not be a fan of the ducks, but he knew it was unfair to blame them for something they had no control over. How quick the mayor and commissioner were to forget that the ducks had followed the Saurians here, a one way ticket, stranding themselves in a strange world.

Lyons was trying to kill two birds with one stone. Klegghorn knew it, but he had no choice. His outburst was going to put his career in jeopardy. But someone in the public's eye needed to take a stand early in the game otherwise the ducks wouldn't stand a chance in a society that would be quick to go from admiring to resentful. And losing that support would mean losing the only real chance they had at defeating the lizard man who was determined to rule the world.

It quickly became evident that some reporters were actually siding with Lyons asking how soon the motion would go through and what obstacles were they prepared to face. The other half protested the remark, asking how their chances of reelections would be affected by the numerous fans that the Ducks had, and whether Klegghorn was a supporter of the ducks due to his protest.

It gave him the hope and courage he needed to take that stand.

X

Dragaunus surveyed the room that held all the parts of his dimensional portal. The synthetic crystals, while no longer needed as a main power source, still functioned as the perfect conductors and gave his new prototype the power boost it needed.

He had no choice but to save acquiring them last. Unlike the other items, they were not in some lab with mediocre security features, nor were they available to purchase with the stolen money they had.

It was in a highly secured lab that had inadvertently created the perfect alloy that disrupted their teleportation devices. There would be no choice but to break in and take the crystals. And since it wasn't just the room made of the strange metal, but the entire frame of the building, it would not be a quick job. It would be a hostile takeover and a guaranteed battle with the ducks.

No matter.

His henchmen were prepared, and this time they would have permission to fight against the ducks with everything they had.

But what of Nosedive? While he missed the evil brilliance Darkflame had, the Saurian wench had made it clear that she would not help in bringing that persona back.

It angered him… but he could always hope for the best.

Once the world was taken over, he would see if any other Saurians could perform the spell. If not… then he would send the young one to the grave with the rest of his team.

Assuming the mallard survived the invasion, of course.

Dragaunus brought up the map to the building on his screen. He would need to plan out the best route to the specific lab and make sure his lackeys memorized it.

He was momentarily startled when he realized the wench was standing by his side.

She turned to look at him. "It is a formidable plan. The chances of succeeding are extremely high."

"Of course," Dragaunus sneered. "Will you also stand aside and watch this one?"

Nightbloom turned to look at the screen again. "I am considering being closer to the action with this plan. Inform me of when you plan to make your move so that I may prepare," she said, turning away.

"Ah… of course," Dragaunus stammered, caught off guard. Looking back at the screen, he couldn't help but grin. Things were finally looking up.

X

"Guys, we've got trouble!" Phil shouted, rushing into the den area where most of the team was lounging around.

Tanya, Canard, and Wildwing were searching through the internet on a portable computer, trying to locate any police reports that coincided with the bombing of the Burgundy Institute.

"You don't know the half of it," muttered Duke, as he, Nosedive, and Grin watched Bernie the Bear on the large screen.

"Captain Klegghorn mentioned that the attacked seemed almost too staged to be just a random attack," Canard elaborated for Phil's benefit, without looking at him.

"There!" Tanya exclaimed.

"Uh, today's morning excitement is past stuff!" Phil exclaimed.

"What is it?" Wildwing asked, stepping closer to the monitor.

Mallory entered the room, and seeing how most of them were crowded near the computer, made her way towards them.

"Guys!" shouted Phil, trying to get any of their attention.

"West Coast Labs reported a burglary. A prototype power source went missing this morning."

"What information can you find on this source?" Canard sounded suspicious.

"One moment."

"No, seriously, guys! Listen up!"

"It's powerful," Tanya responded. "But it requires specialized crystals to be a conductor."

Phil threw up his hands in exasperation and stormed over to the coffee table, snatched the remote from a startled Dive, and changed the channel.

"Hey!"

The next words caught everyone's attentions.  
 __  
"With the suspension of Anaheim's Captain Klegghorn, tension is mounting within the forces. As a result, it has been difficult to manage the situations in which alien supporters and haters have clashed in the streets. Many citizens are still unsure of how to feel about the situation as hockey fans are torn between showing support to the alien team that have brought them victories or to support the Humans Only rallies stating that unfair disadvantage should be eliminated by bringing in human players to replace the aliens."

You see!" wailed Phil as the reporter continued to talk.

_"With the Stanley Cup playoffs starting in a couple days, extra precautions will have to take place at the Mighty Ducks game this weekend._

_"Again, if you are just tuning in, tensions are brewing as a result of the press conference given by Mayor Winsky and Commissioner Lyons, stating their desire to revoke the citizenship of the Mighty Ducks, proclaiming that their presence contributes to the destructive moments such as the bombing of Burgundy Institute this morning. Adding fuel to the fire was local hero Captain Klegghorn publically denouncing their decisions…"  
_

"That's a load of rubbish!" cried Mallory, speaking over the announcer. "We had nothing to do with that!"

"They suspended the Cap? Why?!" Nosedive asked in disbelief at the same time, unable to hear what was said about the human.

Phil shook his head. "He spoke out against their decision during their conference. It most likely had to do with that."

"Why now?" Duke asked. "After all this time, why resent us now?"

"That's what I mean, guys. I've never had to deal with a fall of this scale. I don't know what to do!"

"Well, have they been asking for us to make a statement?" Canard asked Phil.

"I've kind of been ignoring their calls," Phil admitted, wiping his forehead.

"Tell them for now that we have no comment. But once we consult with each other and trusted friends, the team will make a statement and we will announce the conditions."

They continued to watch the news cast in silence.

X

Klegghorn sighed as he trudged his way up to his apartment. After the conference, he had been bombarded by reporters asking to know why he had shown blatant disregard to his superiors and whether or not he was condoning the actions of the alien ducks.

He gave his response and could only hope the ducks hadn't heard it.

Heaven forbid they took at as a sign of something as meaningful as friendship.

He had to shut the radio ff in his car when he heard most of the stations were replaying the conference and his statement, and how Lyons had publically suspended him right after. It was a PR nightmare and he couldn't believe that the Commissioner stooped to that level.

Klegghorn opened his door and was surprised by the delicious scent coming from inside.

His red headed son, Daniel Klegghorn, stepped out. "Hey, Dad."

"Hey, Danny."

His son gave him a small smile. "I've seen the news. What jerks! Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah. It's kind of like a forced vacation," Klegghorn muttered, rolling his eyes. "Thing is, with the lizards running loose, Lyons'll probably call me back in. Then again… he can't or he'll lose face in the public. What a dingbat!"

"So you'll be off this weekend?"

"Yeah. Why?" Klegghorn was suddenly suspicious of his son's innocent looking face.

"Well, ever since I've started the Academy, I haven't gotten a chance to do anything fun! My friend Robbie had a family emergency and needed to fly out, so… he gave me two tickets to Saturday's Anaheim play-off game!"

Klegghorn groaned realizing where this was going.

"Come with me?" Danny pleaded. "It'll be father-son bonding moment! And I mean, the play-offs! You know how much a ticket is worth?! It'll be the closest thing to the finals I'll probably ever attend!"

Klegghorn rolled his eyes. "Puppy eyes don't work as effectively when you're an adult, kid."

Danny pouted.

"But I'll go with you."

Danny beamed.

Klegghorn hoped that the seats would be as far back from the rink. It would just be the icing to the cake if he were spotted by a nosy reporter, or worse, one of the ducks, attending a Duck's game.

X

_"And there you have it. This past year, we have hailed the aliens who play on Anaheim's hockey team as heroes. But they are fast losing support of Mayor Winsky and Commissioner Lyons as they are being accused of bringing their war to us. Their recommendation is to revoke their status as citizens to our city and force them off our planet. Opposition was met by one of Lyon's subordinates, Captain Barnaby Klegghorn. What is interesting to note is that Captain Klegghorn has always been one of the most vocal protestors to the Mighty Ducks, having gone as far as to arrest them for suspicion of burglary, and according to confidential sources, demanded that refrain from committing any vigilante acts._

_"Yet his actions and his words contradict this behavior. Here's a clip of the captain's response when asked his opinion, immediately after the press conference."_

_"'It is hypocritical and unjust to offer citizenship to a group of stranded aliens as a way of gratitude for stopping an invasion and putting our city back on the map in terms of sports, only to go around and revoke it under the false assumption that they are the cause of this destruction. They have been fighting a war we should have been fighting and they have done so without looking for compensation other than being allowed to play. Now excuse me, I have no further comment."  
_

A middle aged dark skinned man raised a remote and pressed pause, halting the recording of Captain Klegghorn waving off the reporters. He turned to face a couple of figures just beyond the reach of his desk's light.

"You've seen him in action and got to work with him personally," the man said, his voice rough sounding. "Will he be a liability?"

"He is professional," responded a no nonsense female voice. "He will not be biased and he will act in an appropriate manner. Unless it conflicts with his sense of justice, he will follow the rules."

"It's clear that despite him being an arresting office, the aliens are trusting of him," said another male voice.

The older man grunted and looked down at his computer screen. "Lord Mai Edelweiss? What is your opinion?"

"Superintendent Matthews, my sources have informed me that the threat Lord Dragaunus poses for your people is more immediate than the few we have been monitoring. A battle with him would be good practice for your kind on the west coast as I cannot guarantee assistance yet. Having capable and trustworthy allies is a must."

"Very well." He glanced up to the two before him. "Make an offer then." He glanced back down. "And if what you say is true, Lord Mai, then we will make sure to have the teams ready. I'll inform the President and schedule a meeting with the international members of the CT."

X

Despite the growing animosity brewing, it was clear that a majority of the hockey fans of Anaheim didn't care about their alien nature.

They just wanted to win.

But it was clear that the opposing team's fans were more anti-alien based rather than actual fans judging by the signs they were carrying.

Duke's favorite was a picture of a dish called duck a l'orange. "That's just classy," he snorted, before skating onto the ice.

Dive couldn't help but feel antsy. All this negative energy was seriously, to borrow Grin's words, messing with his aura. Not to mention the referee was making quite a bit of bad calls or none at all.

Despite that, they were still up by three points.

Now if only the guy covering him would stop trying to trip him before he even got the puck. He was reaching his snapping point.

"Bet you think it's funny that you've been playing us for fools," the player was saying. "You got height on us and probably muscle so here you are, pickin' on us humans. So are you actually making way for your kind? Is there one big plot with the red guy to take over the world? You know, I heard a duck recently teamed up with that guy."

Nosedive turned around and pushed the guy and both of them started fighting as the referee blew his whistle and both teams attempted to separate the two.

"Penalty box for the both of you!" the referee shouted, probably the only fair call he had made all game.

Nosedive could feel his face burning in shame at the look of disappointment in Wildwing's face.

Nosedive groaned as he made his way to the penalty box. He knew better than to let himself be provoked like that. He knew he was going to hear it from Wildwing, Canard, or both after the game. As he sat down, he looked up and saw that he was on the giant monitor.

"Great," he muttered.

Then he noticed a very excited red headed guy giving him an encouraging smile.

Common enough.

The guy next to him however… he was slouched down with a cap covering his face. Very suspicious. Except… he recognized that scowl anywhere.

"Cap?" he asked incredulously, whirling around to look behind.

He grinned, pounded on the shield separating them, and waved at the grouchy police captain. Despite the shaky grounds of trust his team and the captain shared, it meant a lot to him to see the short guy here, especially after the press conference.

Meanwhile, in his seat, Klegghorn was mentally cursing his luck.

While a bit apprehensive at learning their seats were right behind the penalty box, he knew from news reports and some games watched at a pub or home, that the team members were rarely sent to the penalty box.

Figures in the one game he attended as a spectator, the young duck would fight and land himself in trouble, and spot him while penalized.

…And his excited greeting being captured on the hanging screens.

"Dad! Do you personally know him?" Danny asked. "Hey look! We're on the big screen!"

"I've had enough of being caught on camera," Klegghorn muttered, lowering his cap lower on his face and slouching even further.

"Aw, don't be like that!"

"Dude, Captain Klegghorn!" Nosedive was shouting. "Come by the locker rooms after the game! I'll have Phil bring you back!"

"Oh, Dad, you have to introduce me to them!"

Great. His son was an Anaheim Mighty Duck fanboy.

X

"Dive," Wildwing said as they changed out of their uniforms.

"Give the kid a break, Wing," Canard muttered, earning a glare from the current captain. "They were playing dirty and the ref was ignoring a lot of bad moves." Despite their win, the jeering from the alien haters left a bad taste in his mouth.

"He knows better than to lose his temper."

"I know, and I'm sorry, but… you won't believe who came to our game!"

The door leading to the changing rooms opened, revealing Phil, Captain Klegghorn, and some young man they've never met.

With the exception of Dive, all the present ducks were dumbfounded at seeing Klegghorn wearing any Mighty Ducks paraphernalia.

Klegghorn's face was bright red as Duke was the first to react… with laughter.

"Captain! I can't believe you'd wear a hat with our logo on it, much less a jersey!"

"Laugh it up, bird brain," Klegghorn growled. "I did if tor my son. Guys, this is Daniel."

Nosedive scrambled to be the first to shake Danny's hand as the ducks were surprised once more.

"Son?!"

"I thought you looked familiar! I saw a picture of you when you were a kid!" Nosedive stated.

The door opened and Mallory and Tanya stepped in, out of their uniform and already in their street clothes.

The ladies, while stunned, took the introductions with a lot more grace than the males did.

Nosedive, Mallory, and Danny quickly began to chat up a storm as the human male mentioned that he was attending the police academy to become an officer like his father. He also congratulated them on their win.

Canard, Wildwing, and the others gathered around Klegghorn to talk with him.

"Cap, we really appreciate you taking a stand on our behalf," Wildwing said.

"Those guys are morons for suspending you like that," added Duke.

"Thanks," Klegghorn responded with a smirk. How could he not find amusement that the aliens believed the same thing he did?

"What will you do now?" asked Grin.

Klegghorn shrugged. "I can't do anything until they reinstate or fire me. Problem is, with Danny in the Academy, I need to watch my step. Although, other than his last name, not many people know I have a son. I try not to let my personal life leak into my professional one."

"I'll say," said Canard. "A son. Wow."

"If there's anything we can do…" Wildwing started to say.

Klegghorn raised a hand, closed his eyes and shook his head gently. "Don't bother. I'll manage. Just make sure to keep you beaks clean." "As long as Dragaunus doesn't make a move," Tanya said. "Should we tell him?"

"Tell me what?"

Dive, Mallory, and Danny stepped closer to the rest of the group.

"Ever since the bombing of Burgundy Institute, Tanya's been searching for any crimes that we haven't responded to, mostly because we were engaged in combat with the Saurians."

"It really wasn't until last night that we realized we haven't been fighting against the entire group for a while."

"Diversions? You mean that bombing and all the recent mayhem have been nothing but diversions?" Klegghorn asked, realizing where they were going with their conversation.

Tanya nodded. "Each time we were in a battle, pieces of technology were reported stolen. I cross referenced all the information I could find on the items stolen and our data base. It looks like Dragaunus is building his dimensional portal again."

"How much more does he need?"

Tanya shook her head. "Unless he acquired items through other means, he still has some ways to go. Not to mention some of those pieces aren't similar to any of their technology. So he may be building a completely different model. But if he's still seeking bullerian crystals, well, there are three labs still working on creating synth… uh… synth… those fake replacement crystals. We'd have to keep an eye on all three!"

Klegghorn frowned. "I may not be able to personally do anything… but I got people I can talk to who may be willing to keep an eye on things."

X

Canard sat on top of the Pond, looking out into the skyline. They had been played for fools and now Wildwing was going through a major guilt trip. Never mind that he had been leader up until recently the white mallard really knew how to feel responsible for everything.

"I fought him longer," was Wing's reasoning. "I should have realized he wasn't acting the way he normally would."

At least he was almost back to his old self. He still couldn't understand Wing's behavior. Being team captain again seemed to have mellowed him out.

A shuffling sound caught his attention and he quickly stood up, transforming into his battle mode. It didn't come from the access door, so it wasn't any of his team mates.

He raised his puck blaster as a hooded figure moved into sight.

Yellow snake eyes peered out from underneath.

Canard was tense. "Who are you? How did you get here?!"

A grey clawed finger raised up to magenta lips. "Sh… It is almost time," said a hypnotic female voice. "The Code honors no lies. Truths must be veiled."

Canard's eyes glazed over. "Speak freely but reveal nothing," he murmured in a dazed and monotone voice.

"The time for betrayal is near. Sacrifices will most likely be made. Focus on Hoffman labs."

The figure then vanished, and Canard shook his head. "Ugh," he murmured, glancing down and seeing that he had his puck blaster out.

"Why did I…" he started asking himself, scratching his head. He shrugged his shoulders and holstered his blaster before making his way to the access hatch.

A few minutes later, he was with Mallory and Wing.

"Anything new?" he asked.

"Klegghorn said he can probably get a few people to patrol one or two of those labs. Which leaves us with the remaining two… or one."

Canard stared at the list and then the map. "Mind if I make a request?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Hoffman labs. It's practically secluded making it difficult for Klegghorn's men to patrol, and probably the best choice for the Saurians to attack if they need extra time."

"You mean you want us to patrol that one?" Wildwing asked for clarification.

Canard nodded. "I have a pretty good feeling about that one. Plus if we use the Aerowing, we'll be the only ones fast enough to get to another location as backup if I'm wrong."

Wildwing sighed. "And we want no casualties. Fine. I'll tell Klegghorn that we'll take Hoffman."

"But what about the play offs?" Nosedive asked, coming up behind them.

"We used to play with just the six of us. One will be down here monitoring Drake 1."

"So we'll still need to vary patrols, Canard said, seeing the problem. "We can only cover Hoffman if we're not playing."

Wildwing sighed. "This would be so much easier if we had more people on our side."

X

The day was sunny as Danny was checking his bag and uniform for the items he would need for Monday. Klegghorn couldn't help but hum as he finished cooking lunch.

Despite being suspended, he felt good. Having his son around brightened up the day tremendously. Although it was going to feel rather vacant for a majority of the time for the rest of the week.

Maybe he should consider job hunting. As much as he loved his job, despite the lack of gratitude usually encountered, he knew it was going to be difficult to keep it with the ammo he had provided Commissioner Lyons.

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts.

"I'll get that!" Danny shouted as Klegghorn shut off the stove. He wiped down the counter and washed his hands, eyebrows furrowing as he heard a concerned tone in Danny's voice.

Stepping out to the living room, he was greeted by the sight of two people in suits at the front door, one who he was familiar with.

"Agent Belle?" he asked, not quite believing his sight.

The agent nodded at him. "Captain," she responded, putting away the badge she had shown Danny.

"What are you doing here?"

"We have some business we would like to discuss."

"If it's investigative work…"

"We know of your suspension. It's regarding another matter and potential opportunity."

Klegghorn frowned. "Certainly. Danny?"

His son waved his hand. "Don't worry. Lemme just grab some of the food to go. I'll be back later."

Ten minutes later, Klegghorn found himself sitting at his table with the two agents. The male agent, who had introduced himself as Agent Mick Patterson, had placed two briefcases on his table. Agent Belle was sliding a couple of forms over to Klegghorn.

"These are some disclosure agreements. Everything that will be shared here is currently confidential and is not to be shared with the general public including friends and family and our resident aliens."

Klegghorn warily looked over the forms before signing them. He handed them back to Agent Belle.

"Captain, we are here with a job offer."

Klegghorn narrowed his eyes. "I needed to sign a confidential disclosure form for a job offer?"

Belle gave him a wry grin. "I probably should let you know that I am no longer an agent of the FBI. Thanks to the involvement of the ducks during the Extravagant Resort fiasco, I was reassigned."

Klegghorn winced, recalling the comment another agent had said during the Pond's bomb a couple months ago. "Sorry to hear that."

"On the contrary, Klegghorn… Thanks to my interaction with the aliens, it prepared me for a new assignment." She leaned back against the chair. "We are agents of CT, _Custos Terrae_."

"Of what?"

"It translates to 'Protector of Earth."

"Protect… a new agency because of Lizard man and the ducks?"

Belle shook her head. "They are just the tip of the iceberg, Captain. As we have come to find out, they are but a practice run of things to come."

Klegghorn felt sick.

"We were warned that there are small groups of extraterrestrials that have been infiltrating earth for two purposes; to destroy or to protect. They have, unlike Dragaunus and the Mighty Ducks, been keeping extremely low profiles and have been around for quite some time. The ones looking to defend the earth have been meeting with top government leaders around the world to plan for a war they believe will arrive here within this decade."

"And you're telling me this because..?"

"Your involvement with the ducks counts as valuable experience, Captain. And the agency is rather impressed with the integrity you have displayed."

Klegghorn sighed. "I appreciate the offer… but this is my city."

Belle grinned. "Don't forget. We're talking about a war that will involve this planet. Since it's obvious the ducks are willing to fight and defend us, Anaheim will be your base of operations."

Klegghorn took a deep breath as thoughts raced across his mind.

With Lyons out to get him, this opportunity would be great. It was rather nerve wracking at the thought that ultimately he would be in charge of a team meant to defend the earth, but… it wasn't exactly the same as being an officer.

"What will these duties entail?" he asked.

"You will be training yourself and a team for the most part, familiarizing yourself with some of the technology that has been provided to us. And you will be working with me immediately, as here in Anaheim, the primary focus will be to eliminate the threat of Dragaunus."

"Then you can count me in," Klegghorn said.

Belle and Patterson grinned.

"I'll introduce you to your team as soon as the paper work has gone through." She let out a soft laugh. "And it won't be a long wait."

The three rose up and shook hands.

"Of course you shouldn't need the reminder, but nonetheless… everything discussed here is strictly confidential and will only be discussed with permission. When we engage Dragaunus, the ducks will only know that we are there to assist. It's best they only have him to worry about for now."

Klegghorn gave a short nod. "I understand. And speaking of ol' lizard lips, the ducks gave me information on their next possible targets."

"Excellent! Why don't we discuss this in more detail?"

X

Nosedive cried out in frustration as another goal was scored against his team during the first game of the playoffs. It felt odd watching the game and not being part of it, out of uniform, and sitting below the Pond.

But for this game, it was his turn to monitor Drake 1 for any sign of break-ins in any of the possible targets.

It was obvious in their game play that the others were nervous, waiting for him to call them in.

Nosedive sighed knowing that his play would have been just as affected as the others. And so he sat, chewing on his fingertips, waiting.

X

Dragaunus's tail flicked to one side as his drones continued to assemble his dimensional portal. With only the conduits needed the exterior still needed to be placed, and several wires were still exposed.

"Lord Dragaunus," said Siege. "When should we go for the crystals?"

"Soon."

"Wouldn't it be more prudent to get it while the ducks are otherwise preoccupied with their hockey games?"

Dragaunus gave Wraith a glare.

"Every time I come close, those ducks manage to find a way to stop me. With any luck, they are on high alert and wearing themselves out by playing their games and watching for my next move. We'll wait till right after the last of their games and move forward then. And the purpose of this fight won't be to acquire the crystals. It will be to crush those avian with the worst defeat they will ever suffer."

Dragaunus began to laugh as did the other Saurians.

X

"Guys, what's going on?" Phil wailed. "Third game in and we've already lost two games! Normally you guys have these games in the bag!"

"Phil, relax," growled Duke. "We got more important things to worry about."

"No, Phil has a point," Wildwing added. "We need to make sure our head is in the game when we're on the ice, otherwise we'll lose the respect we have with our fans, and even that is shaky with all the negative propaganda that's been going on."

"We can't afford to lose any more games in this round," Canard said, backing Wing up.

"Now let's get some rest. If anything happens, Drake 1 will alert us."

X

Klegghorn watched as his son threw down the newspaper.

"What's the matter?" he asked, drinking his coffee as he tried to wake up.

"Just all the dumb stuff they've been saying in the papers. That and the fact that the Ducks lost a second game and people are actually thinking that they're holding back or throwing the games! But mostly it's about the mayor and Commissioner taking steps to put the ducks under forced protection and how they're willing to let them play their final games!"

Klegghorn scoffed. "Yeah, like that'll happen. I bet no one has even mentioned that to the team."

"Yeah, well, I still think it's unfair that they suspended you. How long are they planning on keeping you off the force?"

Klegghorn shook his head. "Doesn't matter, Danny. Your old man here got an offer that I couldn't turn down. I'll be resigning as soon as I hear from them."

"Seriously? That's great, I hope."

"It is. In the meantime, just do your best with the academy."

Danny gave a small frown. "Okay," he said, clearing hoping to hear more about the new job.

A couple hours later, Danny had already left for training when someone knocked on his door.

Opening it up, he was greeted by a smiling Belle holding a garment bag.

"Welcome to the team," she said. "Now suit up. We have a press conference to attend to, and you have a resignation you need to turn in."

Klegghorn was amazed. "Geez, that was really fast!"

X

Wildwing blocked shot after shot as his team mates shot the pucks in rapid succession for almost five minutes straight. He was gasping for air when they stopped and he could feel sweat weighing down the feathers around his face.

"Excellent work," Canard said.

Despite being team Captain, Wildwing found it was more of a work out when he gave Canard permissions to set up his regime while the others followed his orders.

"Let's make sure you keep that up for tonight's game," Canard added.

Out in the stands, Phil was wiping his forehead as he spoke on his phone. "Listen, no one has spoken to us about all this stuff. Everything we know has been through radio, television, newspapers and the internet! It's rather ridiculous if you ask me. But as their manager, my official stand is that they are primarily here to play hockey. Fighting crime seems is more of a hobby of theirs and I have no control over that. If you want to ask questions about their games, come to me. Anything else, you'll have to wait until they decide to speak about it. I… uh… hold on. I got another call."

"Palmfeather… oh hey!... What?... Seriously? Well, if you insist I'll pass the word… Okay, see you later…"

"Hello?.. Well, looks like you're in luck. Seems there will be a press conference held sometime before tonight's game so you'll have your chance to ask questions then… Just wait until it's announced. Ciao."

Phil sighed in exhaustion as he hurried down the steps to the skating rink.

"Guys, I need you to hit the showers and look sharp. Klegghorn just called. Seems he and some broad named Agent Belle want to set up a press conference and they need to brief you guys about some things."

The team all looked at each other, surprised.

X

Commissioner Lyons sat as his desk, currently ignoring some calls as he took a quick break. He still felt proud of himself at suspending Klegghorn, but he knew he would have to let him back on eventually.

Union rules and all…

But at least it would make things easier to keep the Captain in line. He was a prime candidate for quick promotion and if he wanted to he could easily run for Commissioner due to his sudden increase in public eye.

For a short gruff man, Klegghorn had a lot of good work filed under his belt. His only black mark involved the Ducks.

The door to his office flew inwards, startling him.

"What the..?" To his amazement, Klegghorn strode in with the assertiveness he had been hoping to lessen with punishment.

"What's the meaning of this?" Lyons bellowed.

Unfortunately, Klegghorn didn't bat an eye.

Instead, the detective placed a badge, gun, and an envelope on Lyon's desk.

"I've been given a different job with the government. This is my resignation."

"What?!" Lyons was shocked. This was not expected He hadn't bothered to find someone to replace Klegghorn. It wasn't part of the plan yet.

Klegghorn placed another form on Lyon's desk. "And this is a document to inform you of the government sanctioned CT agency. Similar to the FBI, when we take over a situation, you will report to us. And to make things clearer, anything extraterrestrial related will be under our jurisdiction. If you want more information, you'll just have to listen in on the press conference due to happen in three hours."

With that, Klegghorn turned around and left the office.

Lyons sat there, stunned.

"What just happened?" he asked himself.

X

The ducks were greeted with the sight of a familiar person.

"Oh, it's the lady fed!" Nosedive exclaimed, recalling she had been with Klegghorn when he had emerged from the sewers.

The graying brunette smiled at him. "Glad to see you looking all fresh," she commented.

Nosedive rolled his eyes. "That took hours to clean out the stench from my feathers."

The ducks settled down into the chairs provided.

They were also surprised to see Klegghorn out of his usual bowtie and tweed overcoat. Similar to Belle, he was in a black suit and a black tie. He looked a tad bit uncomfortable, fiddling with the tie's knot.

"So what's going on?" asked Wildwing.

"In roughly an hour, we will be going on air to announce the newly sanctioned CT agency. It is something I have been put in charge of for the state of California, recruiting and training team members who believe in the cause," Belle responded.

"And what cause is that?" asked Mallory.

"Protecting Earth at all costs and extending a welcoming hand to all who wish to be allies."

The ducks looked at each other.

"Being that we're a new group, and still rather small compared to other agencies, we will be focusing on taking out Dragaunus, considering he is our most immediate threat to our planet."

"Isn't he the only threat?" Canard asked, suspicious.

"For right now," Klegghorn responded. "Which is why Anaheim will be the location of United States' CT's primary headquarters. Other branches will be popping up in different states to help cover the nation."

"We have reason to believe that Dragaunus might be only the beginning as your arrival means there are other intelligent life forms out there. Which is why, seeing how those two witch hunters are trying to turn everyone against you, we are here to officially request your assistance as deputized aliens."

"Well that sounds cool," chimed Duke.

"And what does that entail?" asked Mallory.

Klegghorn spoke up. "It means that you are to go about your business until we call you or seek council. I know you guys have been playing your games one player short… Danny's not happy with your last two games… so we're here to tell you not to worry. We got man power to watch the areas you suspected. But we're also here to ask you guys to help us set up a system to track the anomalies you guys use to track lizard lips."

"It also means the government will help cover damages on any legit battles," added Belle. "Because as of right now, I should probably warn you, Anaheim is building a law suit against you guys for all the damages your battles have caused."

"What? But some of those resulted in lives saved!" Wildwing was stunned and Phil groaned.

"Humans are fickle," Klegghorn snorted, thinking of his commissioner.

Canard was clearly worried. "So are we going to be asked to stay out of battles?"

"On the contrary. I meant what I said. Once we engage the enemy, you will be paged. And as we build the team and continue to go international, you will be called to train and explain any technological advances we gain through any joint developments or operations."

"I'm not sure if I like that idea," Wildwing said. "Our technology… our weapons… aren't meant to be fatal. They're meant to disarm or incapacitate our opponents."

"And we respect that. We won't ask for weapons of mass destruction if that was where your concerns were leaning towards. We are currently more concerned with defensive technology right now. So what do you say?"

"So you really do mean to have us help you?"

"It should have been a partnership from the beginning. But our government is full of red tape… you have no idea how long it takes to requisition an extra stapler." Belle rolled her eyes.

Wildwing looked at Canard.

"Your call, Wing."

Wing furrowed his eyebrows. "Klegghorn?" he asked in a questioning tone.

"It's legit," Klegghorn said, realizing the team captain was looking for reassurance. "I wouldn't be here if it weren't."

"Then we'll take that deal."

X

_"Citizens of United States… and people of the world, last year, in the city of Anaheim, California, it was announced that an alien by the name of Dragaunus was plotting to bring an army and take over our world. As your president, I am here to tell you that we have been working on preparing specialized teams to defend against future attacks, starting with the Saurian Dragaunus._

_"I will now turn over to Superintendent Matthews, leader of the newly sanctioned Custos Terrae."_

_"People of Anaheim, and people of the world… As mentioned, we have already been preparing teams, and we have been preparing since three years ago when the aliens known as the Mighty Ducks first arrived. During that time, the aliens turned hockey players have been crusading as vigilantes, keeping crime low and fighting the secret battle against Dragaunus._

_"Unsure of our ways, they continued to fight like this without any other back up, risking their lives for our sake, and sacrificing their own way home. And by that I mean they were given a chance by Dragaunus himself, but they knew that if they left, we would be attacked, and being unprepared, he would overtake us._

_"Therefore we are officially bringing in the Ducks in as consultants and deputies in this fight against Dragaunus and any other possible future attack."  
_

Reporters began to raise their hands and ask questions that were barely audible from the screen.

_"Why? Because they know the enemy. The alien is technologically more advanced. Throwing the army against him will only increase the risk of casualties. As of now, we have another branch of people that have been training with weapons similar to what Dragaunus has demonstrated."_

_"Due to cost and complexity, and that most of these weapons are prototypes, we cannot produce them quickly enough for a large army. The Ducks, however, have wonderful defensive systems, and have agreed to help us develop our own for any potential future invasions."_

_"Yes, if they arrived here, what is to say more are not coming? As long as we are prepared, we will have a chance. And as long as we extend a welcoming hand to any potential allies, our opportunities for enrichment will be grand."_

_"No. Haha. Avid fans have nothing to fear. Anaheim's Mighty Ducks will continue to be the Mighty Ducks. Working for Custos Terrae will be more of a side job. I will now step aside and allow Anaheim's team captain, Wildwing, to speak."_

_"Anaheim, we are proud to be of service to the people of earth, being as you were kind enough to welcome us and allow us to represent your city as your hockey team. We stood before you a year ago to warn you of Draguanus, and now we stand before you to tell you that united we will make sure that you are safe._

_"We captured him once, we will capture him again. And with the CT agency, we will make sure he never escapes again."_

_"Tonight's game? Well, with official back up, I think we'll be able to focus better and continue to work on bringing Anaheim another Stanley Cup."_  
  
The screen shut off and Nightbloom removed her finger from the power button. Behind her, Dragaunus began to laugh.

"So the pitiful earthlings think they're ready to attack me. It will take them years to be ready, and in a couple months, I'll be opening the gates and showing them just how unprepared they are, with or without the ducks."

"So when do we get the crystals?" Chameleon asked Dragaunus.

"During their final game of the third round."

"How will we know they'll even get there?"

"After that heartfelt proclamation? I have a feeling they will win the rounds necessary for their finals. If they lose, well… they will have to find us first. But by three weeks of high alert, they will be tiring themselves out."

Dragaunus turned to look at his henchmen.

"Prepare the drones. I want those staged at all four labs. We'll see how much this team thinks they are prepared when they're forced to divide their attentions."

X

Klegghorn sighed as he stared at the building before him. "Figures," he said to himself. "New agency, new roles, same boring stakeouts."

His radio came to life and Agent Mick Patterson's voice came through. "Seems the ducks are keeping their promise of staying more focused. Half time and they're already eight points ahead. Nine to one. They're massacring them."

"Really?" came Agent Belle's voice. "You're listening to a hockey match?"

"I'm surrounded by duck fans," Klegghorn grunted as Bell continued to mock Patterson over the radio.

As the two bickered, he couldn't help but smirk. It was good to hear that the team was focused. After a close call the first week, it was good to hear they were going strong during their second round. At least Danny was going to be happy.

However, he was a bit worried. Two weeks was not enough time to get to know his new team and train with them. But with the imminent attack, they needed all resources keeping an eye out for suspicious activity.

X

The mind set of Anaheim had completely swung back over to pro-ducks as the fifth game was to begin in the evening. In the news, Commissioner Lyons and Mayor Winsky were mocked, although the small group of any aliens praised the two men. An upset earlier in the week cost them a win, but with a 3 to 1 ratio, there were high hopes that the Ducks would win their fourth game for the second round.

The Ducks were nervous and excited. They knew that if they lost this game, the people could easily start turning against them again. At the same time, the continued silence on Dragaunus's part began making them nervous again.

Was he planning on attacking them again during their possible final game for the cup?

At least with Belle and Klegghorn on the lookout, they were all together on the ice and ready for anything.

X

Klegghorn sighed during the radio silence. As the days passed, his heart kept racing more and more in anticipation of an attack.

But the fact that Dragaunus hadn't used the Stanley Cup play offs to his advantage only served to make him worry even more. The lizard man was planning something. And he knew it was going to be something big.

At least this eased the tension the ducks would be feeling. He could only imagine how they were, adrenaline pumping everyday for the past three weeks. They were bound to start feeling the exhaustion soon, and his biggest fear was that when Dragaunus did attack, they wouldn't be energized enough to be of any real assistance.

X

Drones began to move out from the sewer grates. They all had their own missions to get to their destination and await orders.

Inside the Raptor, Dragaunus was grinning with evil glee. By sending his troops marching, he knew that the ducks and their allies wouldn't have any form of warning. How they tracked them down to where they teleported he wasn't sure, but at least this would delay them or force them to split up.

Off to one side, a single monitor showed the team playing against their opponents. As soon as the game was over, he would send the signal to begin the attack.

Nightbloom had claimed that he was being reckless with waging war against the humans at this time, but he didn't care.

His main teleportation device was almost complete and he was positive with the new programming he installed in the drones, and the training his henchman went through, he would not be making it easy.

The ducks would suffer defeat and the humans would realize that they were not prepared.

A flash of yellow caught his attention and he focused on the screen with the game Cameras were on Nosedive as he raced across the rink to score a goal.

Dragaunus growled. As much as he wanted to have the evil genius back, he was resigning himself to the fact that for his plan to work, he could not hold back in fear of hurting or killing the young duck.

In fact… destroying him would probably aid in demolishing the rest of the ducks.

When he signaled for the attack, he would clarify that when he said to destroy the ducks, that he meant every single one of them.

"Farewell, young duck," he said. "I can't risk my victory by bringing you back."

X

Wildwing glanced at the scoreboard. With this being their potential winning game for the third round for their division, and the other team's only chance to earn one more play, the fight was pretty hard.

Nosedive's score had pushed them two goals over the other team but they were being aggressive in their counter attack.

His hand shot out to block one attack and he quickly had to use his stick to block a second.

The third went in, dropping them back to a one point lead.

A short moment later, Nosedive won back their two point lead as an assist to Canard.

Wildwing couldn't help but grin at how Nosedive was a lot more willing to give up a moment of glory and pass the shot off to someone who had a better chance at making it in. It was something he would not grow tired of.

Wildwing glanced at the scoreboard. Just three more minutes.

X

Across America, avid hockey fans were glued to their seats as the players on ice battled for control of the puck as minutes gave way to seconds.

X

Canard shot across the ice, luring two men after him. In his peripheral, he could see Nosedive pulling slightly ahead.

Shooting the puck in his direction, Canard grinned in victory as the two following him stumbled a bit and another free man scrambled to catch up to Nosedive.

The sound of the goal being made had him rushing back to position as they began to increase the gap.

Up above them, the last thirty seconds began to count down.

X

One of Dragaunus's drones aimed its canon at a car that held a man in a suit Through thermal readings, it was clear his attentions was being divided between the lab across the school campus and two electric vans parked in different spots.

The laser powered up.

X

"9 seconds left but it doesn't matter! Ducks are ahead by five points! Fans are already cheering as the team isn't even playing defense. They're attempting to go for another goal. And there it is! One more in and there's the buzzard. A last second shot by Nosedive, definitely tonight's MVP as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks are another step closer to bringing home this year's Stanley Cup!"

X

Dragaunus smirked as he saw the video feed the drones were giving him.

"Slight change of plans. Demolish everything in sight and gather as many crystals as you can."

X

Klegghorn took a sip of his coffee and let out a small huff as the announcement went over the radio.

"Congrats," he muttered with a smirk on his face.

As he took one more sip, a large bang caused him to spill his cup and cough in surprise.

"We have a bombing at Hoffman's!" he shouted into his radio.

"Here too!" came Belle's voice. "Get the ducks!"

"This is Patterson's team! We're being attacked. Patterson made it out but his car's gone!"

Klegghorn pulled out his communicator. "Guys, we were wrong! All three spots are being hit!"

Klegghorn grabbed his dashboard as something heavy landed on his hood, rocking his car. Eyes wide, he looked up to see one of Dragaunus's drones aiming a laser canon. With a surprised shout, Klegghorn leapt out of his vehicle, scrambling away as he could hear the whine of the canon powering up.

The heat of the blast pushed him away as his vehicle exploded behind him. His men poured out of their undercover vehicles, shouting both in fear and some shouting orders as the drones began emerging from hidden places, all firing.

X

The team was still on the ice when the page went through. Waving to their fans, they made their way to the locker rooms before rushing to their lair to pull up their com units and Drake 1.

"All three areas are being attacked!" shouted Tanya, switching to battle gear.

"We'll have no choice but to separate!" shouted Canard.

"Grin, Mallory! You two head over to Patterson's team. Canard, Tanya, and Duke, head to Agent Belle. Nosedive and I will team up with Klegghorn."

Canard looked perplexed. "Are you sure you don't want me at Hoffman's?"

"We don't have time. We'll take Hoffman's."

Canard gave Wing an uncertain nod.

"Let's head out. Situation sounds grim."

X

With Nosedive and Wildwing in the Aerowing, Canard Duke, and Tanya in the Migrator, and Mallory and Grin on the duckcycles, all arrived within twenty minutes to their destinations.

They were greeted by the sights and sounds of laser beams, gunshots, and explosions.

Drones were forming barricades around the entrances of the labs, slowly advancing in a circular pattern, shooting in a steady pattern. As soon as one was taken down, another stepped forward.

Police cruisers had also responded as back up but it was clear that they were all outgunned.

Mallory and Grin rushed over to where Agent Patterson leaned up against a SWAT van, arm in a makeshift sling.

"Glad to see you guys," he growled. "Fire the launchers!" he then shouted into his walkie.

He glanced at the two. "We're about to test the electric disrupter grenades," he said. "Hope they work."

"Are these Tanya's prototypes?"

Small booms and flashes of lights erupted from where the grenades landed. Several of the drones shut down.

"Not exactly," responded Patterson. "It's a hybrid from an existing prototype we were working on. It was originally meant for something more destructive until we saw that Dragaunus uses a lot of machines."

A familiar light was seen from within the drones.

"It's Wraith," Mallory growled, spotting the Saurian that had just teleported. "You continue aiming for the drones. We'll go after him. Just cover us!"

Patterson nodded and the two ducks ran to one of the nearby buildings.

X

Agent Belle was firing her own gun when Canard, Duke, and Tanya arrived.

"What's the status?" Canard asked.

"We were just fighting the drones, but just a moment ago our system registered a teleportation signal. Two of them. We have yet to spot which hostiles arrived."

"Give us some minutes. We'll get around the drones and engage the enemy inside."

"We'll do our best to cover you. The number of drones is uncertain at this time."

The three ducks headed into the cover of the shadows as they made their way towards the lab.

"Wish I had the mask," Canard muttered. "Tanya! Do you have any life readings?"

Tanya was already scanning the building with a pair of goggles. "I can see two all right. And, uh, judging by their sizes and shapes, I'd say its Chameleon and Wraith."

"This should be simple enough, Duke! Find us a way in."

"Got it."

X

Every time Klegghorn thought they were making progress, another drone would pop up. He wasn't sure how long his team would last with the ammunition they had. Not to mention with the number of men he had to pull.

And the drones were relentless. He couldn't help but feel that they were specifically gunning for him. It was something he noticed when one of the agents tripped and fell in plain sight. When Klegghorn moved forward to help, all lasers shot in his direction and the fallen agent was able to scramble behind another cover.

A familiar sound in sky caught his attention and he looked up. He sighed in relief when he spotted the jet the Ducks rode in.

The hatch opened and Wildwing and Nosedive dashed out, shooting at the drones and making their way towards him.

"The others are backing up Patterson and Belle," Wildwing said as a way of greeting and answering Klegghorn's unspoken question as he scanned the building before him.

But the mask wasn't necessary as Dragaunus himself teleported in plain sight behind his drones.

The three took a step back in surprise as the Saurian overlord exposed his teeth in a malicious grin.

_To Be Continued_

_**In the Next Episode of the Mighty Ducks:**  
_

Grin slammed a fist into another one of the Saurian drones as Mallory did a flying kick.

To his frustration and disbelief, the move didn't work.

The blasted thing had actually grabbed at Mallory's ankle and thrown her into a wall. Dazed, she still managed to get a shot off and blew the drone's head off.

X

Canard looked up at Wildwing. "They were more prepared than we expected. It wasn't just a heist. It was an ambush as well."

Mallory nodded. "Based on what Agent Patterson said, they came from behind and around, opening fire. So not only were they ready for us, but the humans as well."

"We were being baited." Wildwing growled and ran his hand over his head.

"We also have a new player," Duke added.

"What?"

Duke nodded. "There's another Saurian."

X

Dragaunus slammed his fists on the computer's keys.

"Curse this disruption!"

"What's going on, boss?" asked Siege.

"I can't get a clear signal out to my generals. Well, no matter. They know the time frame. They will be there waiting."

"What about the dimensional portals?"

"Begin moving them out through the tunnels. No teleporting! I don't need those ducks finding my unfinished products one by one."


	2. Allies and Enemies: Countdown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recovering from a failed strike against the Saurians, the ducks and their allies find themselves racing against time to stop Dragaunus from initiating his invasion. But the attacks from before were just the beginning, and they were nothing compared to what he is about to release.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully you read the extra snippet in the second author's notes. :)
> 
> Mighty Ducks belong to Disney with the exception of the few random OCs scattered about.

**Previously on Mighty Ducks**

_As the officers hobbled away from the fire, Klegghorn began to call out._

_"Can you hear me? Do you guys need help? Head towards the sound of my voice if you can hear me, or away from the fires if you can move!"_

_Another block of concrete landed next to him._

_"Geez Louise!" he exclaimed, scrambling away from the block._

_X_

_Tanya nodded. "Each time we were in a battle, pieces of technology were reported stolen. I cross referenced all the information I could find on the items stolen and our data base. It looks like Dragaunus is building his dimensional portal again."_

_"How much more does he need?"_

_Tanya shook her head. "Unless he acquired items through other means, he still has some ways to go. Not to mention some of those pieces aren't similar to any of their technology. So he may be building a completely different model. But if he's still seeking bullerian crystals, well, there are three labs still working on creating synth… uh… synth… those fake replacement crystals. We'd have to keep an eye on all three!"_

_X_

_Phil sighed in exhaustion as he hurried down the steps to the skating rink._

_"Guys, I need you to hit the showers and look sharp. Klegghorn just called. Seems he and some broad named Agent Belle want to set up a press conference and they need to brief you guys about some things."_

_The team all looked at each other, surprised._

_X_

_Danny woke up to the sound of a pounding door. Shuffling his way to the entrance, he opened it up, his sleepiness and confusion giving way to dread as he spotted two armed police officers standing there with grim faces._

_They took their hats off and spoke._

_As Danny heard their words, he grasped the door frame, his other hand clutching his chest._

_Both officers surged forward to catch the young man before he could collapse to the floor._

**Allies and Enemies: Countdown (Part 2)**

_90 minutes earlier_

With a taunting smirk, Dragaunus strode into the building.

Wildwing let out a growl in frustration. "Klegghorn! Think you can draw their fire for a couple minutes?"

Klegghorn scoffed. "Sadly, that is a very easy accomplishment right now," he muttered.

"We're going in?" asked Nosedive, incredulously.

"We gotta go after Dragaunus!"

Nosedive shook his head. "Uh, okay but this is crazy!"

Klegghorn signaled another agent. The agent nodded and motioned one more group who stood up and ran while firing at the machines. Enough drones turned to fire at the humans as Wildwing and Nosedive dashed closer to the building, firing at the few drones still focused on their direction.

X

Grin slammed a fist into another one of the Saurian drones as Mallory did a flying kick.

To his frustration and disbelief, the move didn't work.

The blasted thing had actually grabbed at Mallory's ankle and thrown her into a wall. Dazed, she still managed to get a shot off and blew the drone's head off.

But one thing was becoming clear. These drones seemed to anticipate a majority of their moves.

"I think these guys are actually learning from us!" Mallory shouted, rejoining Grin.

So even Mallory was noticing the change in their offensive maneuvers.

They were not advancing as far as they wanted to, which also made them more alert. And that was the only reason they were able to survive the blast of magic Wraith shot at them as he materialized from behind.

Grin and Mallory both pulled out their puck blasters and fired as Wraith let out a chilling laugh and disappeared.

"So you guys think you can stop me like previous times?" his voice echoed around them. "Know this. Things will be a lot more different!"

Grin grunted as Wraith's staff struck him from behind. Mallory swung around to shoot the Saurian but the slippery dark wizard was already gone.

Both of them had to put up their shields as the drones that were still active on the outside were turning around to make their way inside.

X

Duke squirmed his way through one of the air vents as Tanya guided him via com unit. From across the street, Canard and Tanya were waiting for him to make his way to the roof access and open it, allowing them for a quick entry when they zip lined across to the building.

What he wasn't aware of was that below him, a drone was tracking his movements with a thermal scan. Raising its canon, it fired from under him. He tucked and rolled as the vent came down at an angle, springing up in time to avoid another blast to the face.

"I've been compromised!" he shouted into his com unit. He dashed out of the room he had landed in and into the hallway, ducking into another room as the drone followed him.

Canard and Tanya launched their zip lines, realizing they had no choice but to go through the windows.

Tanya broke through the glass of her window and scanned the room. Turning on her wrist unit, she could see that Canard was in the room next to her, but Duke was moving erratically in the floor below.

Unbeknownst to her, Canard did not fare as well as she did. When he crashed through his window, he had collided with a heavy mass.

"Look what we have here!" said Siege, as he turned to slam his tail down towards Canard's head.

Canard rolled from underneath, feeling the tail graze the back of his head. But he was too slow in standing up. With another swing of his tail, Siege caught him from behind his knees and send Canard sprawling.

The tan mallard shook his head and pushed himself up one more time.

"Think you can take me on?" Siege gloated. "You guys haven't been the only ones training. Now it's time for some payback!"

Meanwhile, Tanya was nervous when she realized that Canard had not come out of his room to follow Duke's signal.

And it wasn't easy to track. Despite being compromised, the former thief had somehow managed to get to the bottom levels where the supposed crystals were. Tanya's thoughts were interrupted when something landed on her, sending her puck blaster sliding across the floor.

"What the?"

"Welcome, girlie," said a familiar and annoying voice.

Tanya scrambled up to face Chameleon, nervous that she didn't have a weapon and only a shield.

"Let's play," Chameleon said with a chuckle, morphing into a muscular female boxer.

"Oh boy," murmured Tanya, realizing that she was about to be in big trouble.

X

Wildwing and Nosedive found themselves stuck in between the drones and the human teams. While the diversion looked like it had been working, all drones reverted back to their original shooting stance.

Wildwing could feel his frustration mount as he spotted the form of Dragaunus making his way down into the labs. What made things even more nerve wracking was that he could see that some humans, most likely lab assistants, were trapped in the building with a creature that held no regards to human lives. It was clear from their positions that they knew they were in trouble and were doing their best to hide.

But what caught his attention was that another figure materialized. It didn't look familiar at all. Too short to be Wraith. Too tall to be Chameleon. And to slender to be Siege. Unless Chameleon was morphed for some odd reason. Not to mention that Chameleon and Siege normally worked together.

Nosedive continued shooting as Wildwing tried to find the best possible route. "There!" he said. "Concentrate on knocking them out! Should give us a minute to get to the next cover before another one takes its place."

Their com-unit sprang to life. "You guys have a plan yet?" they heard Klegghorn ask.

"Follow my lead!" ordered Wildwing.

Inside Hoffman's labs, Nightbloom lowered her hands. "That will take care of any humans that may feel brave enough to try to stop you."

"Did you poison them?"

"Too much unnecessary effort. It's a sleeping spell. They'll be out for a day."

Dragaunus snorted. "It will do. It would have been more entertaining to see the ducks mourn the casualties, but can't have everything we want, can we?"

Dragaunus picked up the crystals before him.

Nightbloom glanced over them. "They seem a bit unstable."

"They always are. Which is why I don't want them as a main power source. And just in case, I do have Wraith and Siege grabbing the others. I didn't want to rely on just one batch."

"I will check on the others then." With that, Nightbloom disappeared.

Dragaunus groaned at the unfairness that his technology couldn't get him directly into the building as Wraith and Nightbloom's sorcery could. No matter. He had what he came for. He grinned as he made his way to the front of the building. While he would do his best not to engage in a physical fight, he would take his best shots. If he was lucky, he would strike a fatal blow.

Back outside, Klegghorn and his men were actually advancing. "What's the status?"

"He got the crystals! And he's heading out!"

Klegghorn ducked as one of the lasers struck the corner of the statue, knocking a piece of it off.

"Ugh. Why did I agree to take this job again?" he asked himself, motioning for one of the nearby agents to throw him a spare clip.

"We're running low on ammo!" one of them yelled.

That announcement seemed to trigger a more destructive way of fighting from the drones as they began to throw small grenades, forcing the agents and cops to abandon their shields and locate other cover.

"I'm heading closer to the entrance to head Dragaunus off," said Wildwing. "You stay here and keep trying to take out as many of those droids as possible."

"I'm running out of fire power here, but I'll do my best."

Wildwing dashed around to another pillar, knocking the drone stationed there out of the way. Scanning once more, he could see that Dragaunus was close.

He aimed his puck launcher and waited.

Back inside, Dragaunus paused. Chances were high that whichever ducks responded to this lab, at least one of them was nearby. He quickly pulled out a small handheld screen and pulled up the video feed from the drones. Sure enough, he could make out Wildwing near the entrance. Further ahead was another duck, most likely the young one.

And he knew from the earlier video feed that it was their human cop friend that was running the show.

With a grin, Dragaunus pulled out a small grenade. He stepped towards the door.

Nosedive was adding another charge clip to his puck blaster when the door near Wildwing burst open. Nosedive watched first in wariness, and then in horror, as Dragaunus threw something in the direction of his brother. A blast rocked the whole area as part of the building collapsed.

"Wildwing!" he shouted as he watched his brother attempt to dive out of the way. Wildwing let out a cry of pain as a block of rubble landed on his legs, pinning him to the ground.

Wildwing barely had time to lift his arm with the shield activated when Dragaunus started firing at him.

"Wildwing!" Nosedive fired at Dragaunus's direction before his puck blaster malfunctioned. He felt his stomach drop as he ducked back down to quickly look over his launcher.

"Why now, why now, why now?" he asked himself in frustration. A large shadow was cast over him.

Alarmed, he looked up and scuttled backwards, his feet sliding out from underneath him as he crashed down onto his back. From his right he could hear Wildwing calling out his name, and from the left he could hear Klegghorn shouting "Kid!"

There before him stood Dragaunus, a laser raised and pointed at him.

Nosedive froze as he met the Saurian's eyes. The laser in front of him wavered.

"I really did want the dark version of you back on my team," he said. "But the wench is right. I've almost jeopardized my mission several times because of you. It would be best to eliminate you completely."

Pinned underneath the rubble, Wildwing could only watch in terror at the danger his younger brother was in.

Off to the other side, Klegghorn felt his heart drop. Years of experience had him realize that the kid was in trouble. Frozen in fear, he would sit there and be blasted. And his older brother would be forced to see it from where he was pinned.

With a growl, Klegghorn dashed towards the kid. He threw himself in between the two, gun raised. He could feel the recoil of his gun and he could see the startled look on the red lizard man. But he could also see the flash of light, and he could feel the burning sensation start from his shoulder and spread out.

The force of the blast pushed him back, and all sounds vanished except for the deafening sound of his erratic heartbeat.

He could see the Saurian disappear, and he could see the kid leaning over him.

He was saying something, but he couldn't make out what it was. His eyes moved up to the sky and he could still thee the flames and smoke. He could also see the dark sky.

A sky that was getting darker.

Danny. He hoped Danny would be okay.

The pain in his chest faded.

And so did everything else.

X

**Present time**

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. He was being herded towards the hospital, and there were dozens of lights flashing on his face.

But he didn't care.

He only wanted to know about one of the very few constant humans in their lives that was being wheeled into an emergency operating room.

Hospital security kept the reporters at bay since more injured humans were being wheeled or escorted into the building.

Nosedive leaned up against the wall and slid down as Wildwing left his side to get information on both Klegghorn and to status with the others.

The numbness he was feeling began to fade, only to be replaced by the horrible ache in his chest.

He felt a warmth beside him as Wildwing sat next to him.

The pain moved up to his throat and his eyes burned.

"How are you holding up?" Wildwing asked, gently.

Nosedive let out a choked sob. "I should have moved! If I hadn't frozen… if I had only moved… he wouldn't have… he wouldn't have…"

Wildwing let out a mournful sigh as he pulled in his brother close. "Easy, little brother," he murmured. "Don't give up hope. Klegghorn will pull through."

As Nosedive continued to cry, Wildwing couldn't help but think back to the outcome of the fight.

X

_The fear and the horror were enormous as he watched Dragaunus make his way towards Nosedive who clearly was having issues with his puck launcher._

_"Nosedive!" he cried out, as Dragaunus reached his brother._

_Wildwing pushed at the chunk of concrete in desperation, feeling it move. "Dive!"_

_Glancing over, he spotted something else that made him lose his breath._

_Klegghorn threw himself in between and took the shot that was meant for his brother, but not before he got in a shot of his own._

_Dragaunus roared in fury as he threw one of the crystals that got struck. It exploded as it hit the floor, and then the Saurian disappeared._

_With a shout, Wildwing pushed the rock off of him and struggled to his feet._

_The gunfire and lasers stopped as the functioning drones began to disappear, leaving dozens of wrecked robots behind._

_Wildwing limped to his brother who was in an obvious state of shock, cradling Klegghorn who was unnaturally still._

_All around him, the human agents and officers that could still move around were racing about, checking on their fallen comrades._

_He dropped himself to the ground and held onto his brother until the ambulances could arrive.  
_

X

Nosedive stirred against him, snapping Wildwing out of his memories.

"How are the others?"

Wildwing shook his head. "They're on their way, but there were some injuries. They were prepared, Dive. They had a simple but effective plan to separate us and impair our normal movements."

Nosedive sighed and ten looked up towards the nurses' station. He inhaled sharply spotting a young man with red hair rushing to the desk.

"Wing, what do I tell him?"

Wildwing patted his hand. "I'll get him. He's going to need support too, Dive."

The team captain stood up and made his way over to the human they had recently met, all while hoping none of his team members had made their injuries sound less than they were.

X

Mallory glanced over at Agent Patterson who was still barking orders despite being loaded up into an EMT vehicle.

She thanked the paramedic who had just finished bandaging her arm. The sky was finally starting to lighten up, and due to the amount of injured people, the less serious injuries were being treated on the spot.

Reporters were trying to get close and she hoped none of them got past the barricades. She couldn't handle the thought of talking about this fiasco to anyone, especially after getting Wing's report on Klegghorn's injuries.

Looking over to the duck cycles, she could see that Grin was either in deep meditation, or he was actually brooding. Not that she could blame him. Wraith had practically swept the floor with them, and all through the use of both his magic and drones.

Drones that learned from their moves and adapted to their actions to better defend and attack.

She jumped off the back of the EMT and walked over to Grin since Patterson was finally on his way to the hospital.

As she approached the large duck, she couldn't help but reflect back to how things went so badly.

X

_Making it past the drones and into the building was supposed to be the most difficult part of their mission._

_But with Wraith getting the drop on them and striking first, Mallory and Grin quickly found themselves in over their heads._

_Defense seemed to be the only moves that they could perform and even then they barely would have enough time to either advance or retreat as the battle droids shot blast after blast from behind. Each duck knew their personal shields were not designed for such a constant barrage of attacks._

_The power would wear out and they would find themselves without protection._

_And with Wraith's teleportation spells, Mallory knew their best shot would be to minimize the number of drones._

_"Grin! Up!" she commanded._

_Grin put one hand down and Mallory did a back flip, landing on his hand. He launched her up to where she somersaulted through the air and over the drones. With a few quick shots, several went down. The drones stopped for just a moment, but then began to move._

_Several of the battle droids stayed focused on Grin, forcing the large mallard to dodge the blasts and fire while using the shield to block the shots he couldn't avoid._

_Wraith was giving off his evil chuckle as he moved towards a staircase and disappeared._

_"He must be going after the crystals!" Mallory shouted._

_"Behind you!"_

_Mallory barely avoided a blow to the head as a droid with a smoking laser swung its arm down at her._

_She managed to kick it and knock it down, but she also knew it was only luck. Its arm was coming down to block the move but the damage to its laser arm caused it to ham, giving her the opportunity to connect her kick._

_But before she could completely land, another droid stepped in and swung at her, causing her to flail and fall back._

_"Blasted robots!" she cursed, tucking and rolling before shouting at the droid that landed a strike against her._

_That's when her fears were confirmed. The drones paused again and there was a flickering in their eyes, and they slightly altered their formation._

_She was being herded._

_With the new placement one of the droids had, she could see that her previous roll's landing would have been disastrous._

_"Grin!" she shouted. "They're learning from us! When they pause they're relaying info!"_

_"Then we must take advantage of any of those pauses."_

_Mallory could immediately see one problem. While they had been coming close enough to her to physically fight, they were keeping their distance from Grin and relying on their lasers._

_They already knew that hand to hand combat was pointless. Grin had no predicable style and he packed a lot of power in his hits._

_Her, on the other hand… Mallory was going to have to come up with some new moves just to force the droids to communicate them to one another._

X

Unfortunately, Mallory's plan only worked long enough for Wraith to return.

Grin rubbed his arm where Wraith managed to hit him with a blast. It had paralyzed his arm during the fight, which allowed the Saurian to get a few good hits on him.

X

_He was struggling to maintain his cool, but for once he was feeling extreme frustration in this fight. He could barely get a punch in as the drones were keeping a distance and firing nonstop. The only times he was able to get a hit in was when they paused just a second. But that wasn't enough time._

_So he would throw the bits of broken droids he could get his hands on. But even that only worked for so long. The drones began accurately shooting at the flying debris._

_They had calculated their trajectory and soon that plan was worthless._

_And then Mallory called out what those pauses in the drones meant._

_But he didn't have the timing or space to perform any moves, much less new ones._

_So he prepared himself to move when Mallory did. When he saw them pause and saw their eyes flash, he dashed forwards and managed to knock out and destroy five of them by the time they were back up._

_The droids didn't regroup as quickly._

_"Mallory!" he shouted. "It seems they can't process new information when communicating with each other."_

_"All the more reason to give them possible new stuff to digest!"_

_Grin and Mallory soon found a good rhythm as they were able to eliminate two thirds of the drone force within minutes._

_But right when they were getting ready to demolish the next round of droids, Wraith reappeared with crystals in hand._

_Grin was in mid swing when Wraith showed up. He saw the blast headed his way and could only throw himself back._

_Grin grunted in pain as the blast hit his arm._

_"Grin!" Mallory shouted as Wraith threw a bolt at her. Mallory pulled up her shield but the impact was enough to throw her back into a wall, causing her to slam her head hard._

_Mallory struggled to stand up and she could see three forms of Wraith aiming at her again._

_Grin could see Mallory struggling with her aim._

_He grabbed one of the laser cannons with his one good hand and shot at Wraith._

_The last went a bit wide, but it did knock a crystal out of the wizard Saurian's hand while jostling another._

_"Blast it!" cursed Wraith, tossing that crystal in Grin's direction._

_The thing exploded and sent Grin reeling back. Wraith disappeared and so did the few working droids._

_Grin stood up and made his way to Mallory. The red head struggled up and held onto his arm._

X

"Ready?" Mallory asked, having reached Grin.

Grin nodded. "Patterson looked well."

Mallory snorted. "Well enough. He was barking like a dog. Any news?"

"Dive said Klegghorn is in surgery. Danny arrived not too long ago."

Mallory kicked at the dirt. "And the others?"

"Duke has a concussion, so he's on his way to the hospital as well for a checkup. Said he has some info, too."

"Then let's go."

"Are you sure you can drive?"

"Apparently I have a hard head."

"You are rather stubborn."

Mallory gave him a look.

X

Tanya and Canard pulled up at the hospital and glanced back to where Agent Belle was holding Duke steady.

"I think I'm gonna puke," said Duke, clearly not caring about his dignity. Then again, when asked earlier, he mentioned something about having his dignity run through the wringer. But he refused to go into detail, preferring to say it only once and in the presence of his team captain.

He had the best opportunity to stop the crystals from being acquired, but he blew it. His success would have at least made Tanya and Canard feel better about their defeat.

X

_Tanya wasn't good with physical fights. She knew that. It was the reason why she had been doing her best to train with hand to hand combat. But she wasn't good enough._

_And Chameleon was proving that with the way he was coming after her._

_The shield was meant for bullets, pucks, and lasers. Close range fighting minimized its effectiveness because of footwork._

_While raising the shield to block a punch o the head, Chameleon suddenly morphed again and used the tail of a Komodo dragon to knock her on her back, sweeping her feet out from under her._

_Tanya rolled to scramble away, but Chameleon transformed into an ape and grabbed her ankle._

_"Let go!" Tanya shouted before she was lifted up and slammed into the ground._

_Chameleon raised his fist to strike her one more time when a message came through his communication device._

_"Third duck is headed to the lower levels."_

_"Urk! Gotta run. Have fun, girlie!" Chameleon cackled as he tossed a grenade in Tanya's direction and scampered down the hallway._

_Tanya balled up and activated her shield in time to avoid the full blast of the explosion. She coughed as the smoke from the blast cleared the air._

_A large shadow moved past her._

_Siege._

_"Canard?" she weakly called out once it was gone._

_She stumbled into the room and gasped. The ceiling had caved in and she couldn't see Canard._

_"Canard!"_

_A coughing sound had her focusing on a pile of rubble._

_"Canard!" She ran to the pile and began digging through the debris._

_A tan hand shot out grabbing hers. Slightly startled, Tanya pulled, dragging Canard out from underneath._

_"That blasted Saurian actually matched me move for move!" he growled. "Duke?"_

_"I can't raise him."_

_"We gotta go find him. Siege is headed to the labs."_

_"So is Chameleon."_

_Down below where the labs were, Duke snuck through the large computers and file cabinets leading to the glass displays holding the crystals and other experiments and prototypes._

_A flash of dark movement caught his attention. Back tracking for a bit, he came across a hooded figure._

_Duke froze. He didn't recognize this figure, but he could tell it was a Saurian based upon the grey tail he could see moving under the cloak. The color was wrong for the others. A new Saurian player they didn't know about._

_A hand reached out and grabbed the cabinet._

_Duke almost reeled back in shock. The hand looked like it belonged to a female. That or a very thin male._

_He narrowed his eye._

_Regardless, he needed information. He silently approached the figure, readjusting his grip on his saber._

_Like a viper, his right hand closed on the unknown Saurian's wrist while his left hand came up around the front of the Saurian, blade against the neck._

_"Gotcha!" he said, as the figure quickly turned its head around, revealing angry and intense yellow eyes and silky black hair that brushed against his beak._

_"Uh, now I have some questions for…"_

_That one moment of disbelief of confirming that the saurian was indeed female was enough for her to suddenly pull forward and slip her arm out to slam his face with her elbow._

_He lost his grip on her wrist as he stumbled back. He had no time to recover as her foot came up to collide with his face, sending him spinning to the floor._

_He grunted as he landed on his back. He opened his eye and gasped as a katana pierced the ground right by his head._

_Straddled above him was the female Saurian, breathing hard, eyes blazing._

_Eyes looked at one another, and then the female narrowed hers._

_"Congratulations," she said in a sultry voice. "You managed to sneak up and lay your hands on me." Her eyes moved over to Duke's fallen saber. "Blade brother," she finished._

_She stood up, pulling her katana out of the ground but keeping it pointed at Duke. Her foot kicked Duke's saber further away._

_"I am curious to see what skills you hold, so I shall let you live in hopes for a proper duel in the future. But I can't afford to have you follow me now."_

_Duke raised his hands to block the kick aimed for his head. However, the kick was meant to sweep his hands out of the way as her tail followed immediately._

_A burst of light and then darkness._

X

Defeated by a female in less than three minutes! Duke had never felt such a bruise to his ego. Lucretia D'coy had flirted and messed with his mind to catch him off guard.

This female just…

Duke gritted his teeth. He wanted that rematch. And he would find her and get it.

"We'll just have to wake you up every hour for the rest of the day," the doctor was saying.

"Joy," muttered Duke. "Where's Wing?" he asked the others.

"He's coming," said Mallory, brandishing crutches. "Sprained ankle," she said as a way of responding to Duke's unasked question. "Didn't feel it until the boot came off."

Wildwing came into the room. "How is everyone?"

They all shrugged as Nosedive came in, a haunted look in his eyes.

"We need to figure out what went wrong."

Canard looked up at Wildwing. "They were more prepared than we expected. It wasn't just a heist. It was an ambush as well."

Mallory nodded. "Based on what Agent Patterson said, they came from behind and around, opening fire. So not only were they ready for us, but the humans as well."

"We were being baited." Wildwing growled and ran his hand over his head.

"We also have a new player," Duke added.

"What?"

Duke nodded. "There's another Saurian."

X

"With the exception of the human cop I took care of, none of you dealt a damaging blow to the ducks! And we didn't get that many of the crystals. In fact, you two didn't get any at all!" Dragaunus roared at his three henchmen, his greatest ire against Siege and Chameleon.

"Sorry boss! We don't know what happened. We picked them up and they were already unstable."

From the side, Nightbloom watched, a small smirk on her face. It quickly vanished as she thought back to the battle in the labs. Her pride was still hurting from having been seen by one of the Ducks.

She could have spelled the memory away, but it didn't matter. The time was near.

And knocking him out did give her time to send a fatal charge through the crystals.

Dragaunus had enough for only one shot if he wanted to open the gate soon. He would not get an opportunity to try again.

X

_"Americans are getting nervous as the first coordinated attack resulted in failure for the newly instated Custos Terrae. While information is still being guarded, we do know that there were many critical injuries. On related news, there has been an increase in Human Only rallies. They have quickly decided to use this failure as an example of getting involved in situations that are not human's responsibilities. Supporters have quickly argued that extraterrestrial evidence had existed prior to the Saurians' arrival and it was only a matter of time that contact would have been made. The Ducks' arrival guaranteed that at least there would be a force available to help stop any invasions."_

Danny sighed as he turned the television off and looked at his father. He knew he should at least inform his mother, but he also knew she would use it as a reason to start an argument again about his career choice.

A shuffling sound alerted him to the arrival of another visitor. Looking up, he saw that Nosedive was at the door.

"Oh, hey," he greeted softly.

"Um, hey."

"Come on in."

Nosedive cleared his throat. "How's he doing?"

Danny sighed. "It could have been worse. The fact that it was a laser reduced the amount of blood loss because it cauterized the wounds. On the negative side, the blockage almost lost him his arm. There was almost no blood flow to it. And the pain… it's mostly shock that had him in danger."

"I… I am so…"

"Nosedive, don't. My dad did what he felt was necessary. Despite his attitude, he's a good man. If it wasn't you, it would have been one of the other agents."

Nosedive exhaled.

"Agent Belle informed me that they would be moving him to a medical unit at the headquarters due to the sensitive nature of…well… everything."

"Will we still be able to visit him?"

"Yes. I mean, you guys are technically part of the agency. As a family member, I have permission to see him."

The machines continued to beep as the two males shared a moment of silence.

"I love his hot cocoa," Nosedive suddenly said.

Danny threw him a bewildered look before his face broke out into a grin. "He does make a good cup of chocolate," he agreed.

The two chuckled as they shared the fond memory.

X

Tanya shook her head in frustration as Drake 1 continued having issues identifying all of the components in the crystal remains she had acquired.

A beeping sound interrupted her and she opened up a messenger screen to see Agent Belle as the caller.

"Miss Vanderflock. I was able to acquire the lab reports on those crystals and I'm forwarding those files to you now."

"Thank you! With all the components identified I should be able to complete a program to locate the energy source. It's similar to radiation, but we need to know what we're looking for."

"Do that. We'll be consulting with some other contacts about other ways to deal with these droids now that we have some to evaluate."

The screen disappeared and a message saying TRANSFER COMPLETE appeared. Tanya opened the files and began to read over them.

Wildwing came up behind her. "After you plug in all the necessary information, will there be time for you to get some sparring?"

Tanya nodded nervously. There was no choice in the matter. After finding herself without any back up and being thrown around like that, she was well aware that she would be targeted again. She needed to practice close combat moves in defense and offense.

Once Duke was deemed as being healthy, he had thrown himself in sharpening his sword skills. And Mallory was training with Grin to learn some of his moves and adapted them to her own. Her sprained ankle impeded some of her movements, but she didn't care.

The fact that the Saurians had successfully gotten away with what they wanted hurt them and unnerved her. And it was clear that the rest of the team was also affected.

She began to type in the missing information. They were, after all, running out of time. With the crystals in his possession, Dragaunus could easily be only a scant few days away of activating his dimensional portal.

They would still be able to detect the Raptor if Dragaunus powered it completely, but there was no guarantee that he would. Chances were extremely high that he was building the dimensional portal away from the Raptor. That was what made it so important to locate them through the energy source of the synthetic crystals.

X

"Well?"

"We can create more crystals. Given more time we could find a way to stabilize it, but as it is, it'll be almost a month to complete ones of these qualities." Wraith looked at his lord.

"Do it."

Nightbloom moved to the scanning device that held the one of the three good crystals they had and stared at it. She lightly touched the glass and then stepped away, moving towards Dragaunus.

"How are you proceeding?" she asked.

"As I wait for duplicates to be made. I will have my drones move the pieces of my teleporters throughout the city."

"Teleporters? Interesting. I was under the assumption you only had one large one."

Dragaunus chuckled. "No, dear lady. I am learning. Having one working teleporter is just asking to be stopped. By having more than one, and in multiple locations, one of them will be sure to work. Although if all of them work, then the invasion force will arrive almost all at once."

"Excellent thinking on your part."

"Yes. Wish I thought of it sooner. And to make things more complicated for those blasted Ducks and humans, I am preparing an army of drones to attack their headquarters prior to initiating the starting sequence."

"You know where their headquarters is?"

"Not yet. I have Chameleon on it."

"Where will you be when you start the attack?"

"I'll be at the main warehouse, where the largest of the teleporters will be. That's the only one I'll have to chance by being present due to the complexity of the device. I can't trust my helpers to fix it if something goes wrong. But they will also be present in case that's the one the ducks target. I need to give them something fun to do."

"And your generals are aware of the plan?"

"They have a time frame, although… I did run into some interference with the communication."

"A human satellite?"

"No. Their technology can't stop mine. It was something in the atmosphere, though."

"When will your plan take place?"

Dragaunus frowned. "Unfortunately, it'll be a little over a month before we're ready. Enough time for the ducks to recuperate. No matter. Let them run worried about when I'll strike."

X

Canard kept hitting the pucks into the net. It wasn't meant for practice at this point, but more as a way to release steam.

He couldn't help but feel conflicted.

As team captain, the failure of this mission rested on Wildwing's shoulders. But even he wouldn't have foreseen the sudden improvement of the Saurian's fighting style.

Mallory had even pointed out how they learned from her own moves.

Siege, however, could not have adapted to the new moves that quickly, so it was his fault for not trying something new when the old methods failed.

He paused from shooting and looked up as he sighed.

Nosedive concerned him. At least Wildwing was performing his brotherly duties and consoling the kid.

Despite what Wing had said to him, and even Danny, Dive still had a lot of guilt in his heart.

And what was troubling him as well was the strong need he had to be at Hoffman's, and the shame he felt for not being there.

But with Wildwing taking it, he pulled back even though it bothered him.

Not to mention, there was a strange feeling lately, that he needed to remember something.

And the couple of strange blackouts that he had been having. There was only two of them, but he would realize he had them a couple days after the fact.

Despite the blackouts, it was that feeling of needing to remember that bothered him the most. And the strange scenes that were starting to plague him. Memories really. Of when he was floating in dimensional limbo, the worm having let go of him.

Where everything was so cold and silent. Until something appeared.

Something had to have been the reason for his return.

But what was it?

And what about the entire time he had been there. Unless time passed differently, it was not a year's worth of time he had been there.

There were also flashes of seeing a plain metallic ceiling. And a med bed. And a voice.

_When the time for the betrayal comes, you shall remember all._

Such a strange dream.

And what betrayal was it referring to?

X

Bleary eyes opened to look up at a white ceiling. The sounds of rhythmic beeping could be heard and a terrible itch was developing on his hand.

His chest ached.

Klegghorn looked around, his vision clearing up.

A hospital?

 _So I'm alive_ , he thought to himself. He glanced down at his hand to see an IV attached. _Thought I was a goner for sure._

"Dad!" came an excited voice. Looking to his right, he spotted Danny coming in with a coffee cup in his hand.

A bit of guilt flashed by as his extremely relieved looking son came into the room after shouting to some nurse that he was awake.

"Hey, how ya feeling?" Danny asked.

"Lousy. What happened after I got hit?"

Danny snorted. "Nice, Dad. You just wake up from a mini coma and you want to know about your work."

Klegghorn responded with a grunt.

"Glad to see you awake, Mr. Klegghorn," said a doctor, interrupting them. "Let me check on a few vitals and I'll send in for your supervisor."

As the doctor checked the machines, Klegghorn continued asking his son questions.

"So the bird brains are okay?"

"Yeah. A bit beat up but…" Danny shrugged his shoulders. "I guess that dragon guy got away with what he was looking for. They've been playing the playoffs, but they were down a team member. Mallory had a sprained ankle. But they pulled through."

"How long have I been out?"

"About two weeks."

"What?"

"Yeah. You're at CT's medbay. They moved you three days after your initial surgery once they got you all stabilized."

"The kid?"

"Nosedive? Feeling guilty. Feels that your injuries are his fault."

"Bah."

"'Well, everything is looking much better, Mr. Klegghorn," the female doctor interrupted with a cheery voice.

"So what's the damage?"

"Well, considering you took a high temp laser to your shoulder… it's healing cleanly. You'll have minimal scarring."

"Yeah, yeah. When can I get back to work?"

"I'd say three more weeks," the doctor said wryly. "But judging by your impatience, Mr. Klegghorn, I'm sure you'll manage to be up and out before that."

"It would be reckless of me to stay bed ridden that long. You have any idea how much can go wrong? Those ducks get in trouble just about every other day!"

"Ah, well, I'll let you have your rest, Mr. Klegghorn. Give you time with your son."

Danny grinned. "So when are you planning on being out by?" he asked his dad.

X

"The situation in New York is unclear as unknown friendlies are causing mayhem to the alien group setting base there. The New York CT won't step in until they've identified the group. As for Nevada, they are attempting to recruit Bruno and Friedman in case their friends decide to return. Hawaii is still being monitored by a former agent who declined CT status to remain a social worker." Matthews rattled off the information off of a list.

"Most excellent," came the voice of their unknown partner. There was a beep. "Ah, pardon me for a moment. I have a transmission coming through."

A moment later, the voice from the computer screen came back. "We have a situation."

Agent Belle joined her boss to look at the screen.

"One of our undercover operative informed us that within a week, two at the most, Dragaunus will be opening not one portal, but an unknown number. He has also been seeking out information on your headquarters and is amounting an army to attack. Not all of our teams are ready for mutiny although they are doing their best to prepare and attack to take hold of the invasion fleet. In the meantime, it is imperative Earth's forces seek and find a way to delay those portals from opening."

"It would help if we knew where they were."

"Unfortunately we have limited communication with our resources on your side. Do not forget this battle is larger than the issue with Dragaunus. We fear one of the criminals we are seeking may have disrupted the signals we were using for our operatives. If they tune into this frequency, we will find ourselves in complete black out."

"So we must prepare for going in blind." Agent Belle's eyebrows furrowed.

"And alone. Without that communication, we can't ask for them to assist you. Hopefully one of earth operatives will find and stop…"

The screen went blank with static and Agent Belle's boss groaned.

"Make sure someone is in the labs 24/7 to alert us if something shows up!"

"Yes, sir."

"And inform Klegghorn of what's going on!"

X

"Anything?" Wildwing asked Tanya as he shut off his com-unit.

The female duck shook her head. "Not a blip."

"Well, we have a problem. And some good news."

"What is it?" asked Canard.

"Klegghorn's awake."

"Is that the bad news?" asked Nosedive, grimacing.

"Uh, no. He was informed by Agent Belle that Dragaunus may open the portals and attack headquarters if he finds it within the next two weeks."

Tanya glanced at her computer as if hoping it would find the source she was looking for right then and there. Nothing.

"We're not ready," said Canard, realizing where Wing was going.

Wildwing nodded. "We have to keep practicing. Duke, I'm going to need your help as an extra set of eyes for critiques. Dive and Grin, I'm going to need you guys as sparring partners."

"Oh, boy."

"Don't worry, little bud. I won't hurt you… well, crush you."

"Thanks…"

"Mallory, I'm going to need you to teach Tanya everything you can about hand to hand defense and offense. We can't risk her being unprepared to fight again."

"Understood."

"Get ready guys. We'll start in an hour in the training room."

X

Dragaunus slammed his fists on the computer's keys.

"Curse this disruption!"

"What's going on, boss?" asked Siege.

"I can't get a clear signal out to my generals. Well, no matter. They know the time frame. They will be there waiting."

"What about the dimensional portals?"

"Begin moving them out through the tunnels. No teleporting! I don't need those ducks finding my unfinished products one by one."

X

Tanya grunted as her body slammed down into the mat.

Mallory bounced, still in fighting stance, an unapologetic look on her face.

"C'mon Tanya," Wildwing encouraged. "You hesitated. You would have had her. And if you're still worried about attacking, then defend!"

A battle cry from the side momentarily distracted them and they turned in time to see Nosedive pull Grin forward, drop to his back, and with his legs continued the momentum and pushed Grin forward to the ground.

Nosedive scrambled up and jumped in excitement. "Ha! I did it!"

Grin's hand shot out and grabbed Dive's ankle, pulling his foot out from under him and sending him crashing.

"Match hasn't been called. No time for celebrations," Canard said.

Wildwing turned to Tanya. "Again."

Tanya stood up and dropped into position. Until her program located the crystals' energy, they had to do their best to get ready.

X

Tanya groaned as she sat in front of her computer monitor. Wildwing had finally called for a break, although instead of resting, he had taken Nosedive and took him out of the Pond.

Probably to visit Captain Klegghorn.

Although… it wasn't Captain anymore. She still found it odd to not address him as such.

A shadow fell across her and she craned her head back to see Mallory grinning at her with a couple of ice packs in her hands. She handed them over.

"You're getting the hang of it," she said. "After all, you got me twice."

"After how many times you got me before?" Tanya scoffed. "I never realized how far off I was from you guys. I've always been the… uh… behind the scenes duck. The only physical training I really get is out on the hockey field."

Tanya's eyes grew wide as she began working herself up. "I've always been bit and clumsy. I'll always be like that! The only thing I'm good for is my tech stuff!"

"Hey, hey! Relax!" said Mallory, alarmed. "Just keep practicing. If you keep doubting yourself, of course you're going to fail. You're smart enough to know that."

Tanya looked at her with worried eyes. "I can't help it," she admitted softly.

Mallory sighed. "None of us were good to begin with. Think of it this way… you're just expanding your skill set. That's all."

Tanya snorted. "Yeah, okay."

Mallory grinned. "No, seriously. You just need a bit more confidence. And I know the perfect way to start!"

"Yeah?"

"Shopping and a makeover!"

Tanya snorted again but in amused disbelief.

"I'm serious! Once this all settles down and we don't have to worry about Dragaunus for a bit, I'll take you shopping and we'll give you a whole new image. You won't recognize yourself and you can start by pretending to be someone different. You know. As long as you don't really change into someone completely different. We like you."

Tanya sighed and shook her head. "That is the craziest form of psychological therapy," she said.

Mallory just smiled as the two females sat in amicable silence as they watched the search continue.

"But okay," Tanya finally added in a soft voice.

X

Klegghorn mentally gagged as he pushed his dinner tray away. Hospital food. Yech.

Someone knocked outside his door and he turned to see two familiar figures.

Klegghorn waved them in, finding it a bit odd that there was not loud noises or yelling involved.

"You guys okay?" he asked them.

Wildwing grinned while Nosedive looked baffled.

"Us?" he asked, incredulously.

Klegghorn shrugged.

"We'll be fine," said Wing. "We're just taking a break from training. And I figured this one here just wanted to make sure you were okay ever since we heard you were awake."

Nosedive looked almost pink under his feathers.

Klegghorn rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, kid. Comes with the territory."

"I know, but…"

"Zip it." Klegghorn smirked. "Although if you feel that bad, maybe I can ask you to sneak me something greasy. Fries would be good. This food is too bland for my tastes. You'd think a private medical facility would have better food offerings."

As Nosedive chuckled, Wildwing sighed in relief. Between everything that had been happening, he knew that seeing Klegghorn awake and being himself, Nosedive would feel better and be able to focus on the task at hand.

He just stood back and watched as Nosedive continued talking to Klegghorn, letting him know the gossip of the games, how they were faring.

X

A plump lady with strange markings on her face was patting her hair and checking her face in a compact mirror, frowning as she tweaked her hair. A few moments later, across the street, she could see two of Anaheim's ducks coming out of what appeared to be a common building, talking and looking much more happier than when they had gone in.

Approaching them was a man in a suit that looked familiar. It was actually one of the agents that was standing behind the man identified as Superintendent Matthews in the news broadcast.

With a grin, the woman turned and walked into the alley and in a flash was gone, replaced by a canine with a couple of similar spots on its face that took off running towards the warehouse docks.

X

Nightbloom pulled up the information on the crystals, comparing them to data from the originals. She heard a scampering sound and spotted a dog run past her to where Dragaunus stood.

With a flash, it transformed into Chameleon.

A large grin decorated his face.

"A couple weeks of patience has finally paid off!" he exclaimed.

"Did you find what I wanted?"

Chameleon nodded. "I have observed the ducks visiting this one building a few times, and have spotted other people going in before recognizing some of those agents from television. That's got to be their headquarters. It's so plain most people ignore it."

Dragaunus nodded once. "I'll send some of the smaller drones to investigate it. If it does prove to be their headquarters, we'll began the next phase."

X

A knock at the door alerted Klegghorn that he had another visitor. Looking up, he spotted Agent Belle and he couldn't help but give her a smile in answer to her own.

"How you holding up?" she asked him.

"Everything still hurts, but I can sit up on my own and stand a bit. What's the status on those crystals?"

Belle sighed.

"It's still a race to see who gets there first. We're running into other problems right now. Any potential back up will be delayed and communication is being lost all across the boards, from both here and out there."

Klegghorn frowned. "When are we going to tell the Ducks that there's a whole lot more going on?"

Belle shook her head. "Until Dragaunus is neutralized, we can't afford to distract them. Let's face it. This is their battle. When the other battle comes, we don't know if they'll stick around or high tail it back home."

"They might fight harder knowing that we may have a way to send them home. They've been working against Dragaunus knowing that by defeating him they're eliminating their only chance of going home. And if they choose to leave us, it's their right. They've been fighting their war by themselves far too long."

Belle nodded. "I don't disagree. But the head honchos don't want to let them know that they have that option until the others arrive."

"Politics…"

"Is it any different from what you were experiencing in your work place?"

Klegghorn snorted. "It was on a smaller and petty scale."

"Anyhow, I hope you're not overextending yourself trying to get out of this bed sooner than what's healthy. But I brought you some toys."

Belle pulled up a metal briefcase and popped it open.

A couple weapons lay inside customized foam padding.

"A couple prototypes we've been working on. Be grateful you're not in a normal hospital."

Klegghorn perked up.

"You can play around with them. Just remember to keep the safety on, this little switch right here. I've also got the manuals here."

"You are a mind saver here," Klegghorn said.

Belle laughed. "I figured you'd be getting bored. At least this way when you are back on the field, you won't be behind on the weapons. Maybe if you're lucky one of the staff members can be convinced to wheel you to one of the shooting ranges to actually test it out."

The two agents smiled at one another, each one pleased.

X

_"The search for the alien terrorist continues, and armed forces are beginning to move in to provide assistance. The people of Anaheim are being urged to temporarily vacate the city as the CT agency stated that it's going to aggressively search for the alien."_

_"We have reason to believe that these Saurians are using underground tunnels to move throughout the city, avoiding using their technology which we have been able to track. The US armed forces are moving in to assist with the search and for the safety of the people, we ask that you seek alternate accommodations until the all clear has been given."_

_"And that's from Superintendent Matthews. Of course the public is concerned as many citizens are finding it difficult to seek different accommodations, especially with the unknown factor of how long the search is going to take place. Several have also refused to move, feeling that it is their duty to take a stand and not live in fear. Temporary accommodations are being provided outside the city limits, but the people are scared and the controversy about alien presence continues. Conspiracy theorists are loudly proclaiming…"_

Dragaunus turned off the news report with a growl.

"The humans are moving ahead with much more force that I thought."

"Maybe you shouldn't have decimated them the first time around."

Dragaunus snarled at Wraith who shrank back.

"Maybe we should bring the battle early to them?"

"I have drones scoping the place that Chameleon spotted. By tomorrow I will have the building's blueprints."

X

It was late night when Drake 1 sounded the alarm, and almost as quickly, shut off.

The ducks shuffled in. "What was that?" Wing asked.

Tanya played with the controls. "Seems it caught a brief surge of power from a teleportation device. But it was gone too quick to pin point the exact location from where it came from and where it went. However… I can have my program focus on those general areas and see if the crystals are there!"

"Do it."

X

Lord Dragaunus roared as he threw one of this droids across the room.

"Where's Chameleon?" he demanded as Wraith and Siege stepped back.

The screen behind Dragaunus flickered to life, revealing the missing Saurian running down one of the tunnels.

"Boss!"

"You fool! What were you doing creating a way for those blasted ducks to pinpoint us before we were ready?"

"Boss! I… it wasn't me! I mean, it was but… I don't know what happened! It shorted out on me and when I tried turning it back on… it just teleported me to the warehouse! But I turned it off right away and I'm coming back through the tunnels!"

"You better hope the ducks and those humans don't find us or I'll have our head."

"Yes, boss!"

The screen flickered off.

Nightbloom stepped up next to Dragaunus. "I'll gladly lend my services if you need a quick beheading," she said.

Dragaunus threw his head back and laughed, causing Siege and Wraith to warily back away.

"My dear, I may take you up on that offer," he said. "But with that mistake, we have no choice but to go forward with the attack a bit early."

X

Tanya continued typing furiously on her computer. The program was doing what it could to track down the signal that the teleportation had originated from and ended at, but the areas were still too general to get an idea from where it could have come from.

But the parameters she was keying in… she needed to locate a place that would be large enough to hide a ship or a dimensional portal that would allow ships to fly in. Scanning for structures that fit that description was narrowing down the possibilities, but not fast enough for her.

She couldn't help but think that there was something wrong. Dragaunus would not have made a mistake like that, not when he had been so careful all this time.

It was like an omen. A sign.

One that another battle was about to start and the countdown officially began.

And they were still in Stanley Cup playoffs, working their way to the final series.

She couldn't help but feel that they were not going to make it to the final games.

X

Hundreds of spider like drones marched down the tunnels as the full sized drones marched along side of them at a slower pace.

The hum of their energy resonated through the tunnels and Dragaunus grinned as he linked to one of the front one's live feed.

He really only needed one more day, but at least with this distraction, he would most likely get it.

Their tracking devices allowed him to watch the way they spread out like ants in his underground network, heading towards the places he knew he needed to cause the most damage to.

X

Klegghorn's eyes snapped open.

Rarely did he have that gut instinct that something was wrong without someone saying something. But suddenly, being in bed seemed like a bad idea. With a grunt, he reached for the brief case that Agent Belle had left him.

Pulling out his new weapon and switching the safety off, he felt a bit better.

With a cautious look at his surroundings, Klegghorn leaned back on his pillows, laser gun held up at his chest.

He closed his eyes and tried to go back to sleep.

X

Tanya had fallen asleep when a small steady beeping rose her out of it. The fogginess in her head evaporated when she realized that her computer was signaling that it had completed its new search parameters and had narrowed down the choices to six locations. That would definitely make searching for Dragaunus and his minions even easier.

She used her communicator link to get in contact with Wildwing.

"I got locations," she said when he responded groggily.

"Be right there," he said with a much clearer voice.

She smiled in satisfaction as she sat back in her chair.

And then frowned when she felt a slight tremble. Had she been working until exhaustion? Was that why the ground suddenly felt slightly unsteady?

She shook her head.

That had to have been it.

And then the ground trembled again, only this time it was accompanied by the blazing alarms of Drake 1.

Jumping up she pulled up the security info and felt her beak drop as she read that Drake 1 was listing perimeter breaches from around and below.

"The sewers!"

"What's going on?!" asked the others as they ran into the room, donning their battle gear.

"We're being attacked from underneath!"

"The secret entrances!"

Her fingers flew as she aimed to send all the information to CT as backup.

X

Dragaunus laughed as he spotted a potential entrance to the Pond in the sewers. Had it really been that easy all this time? At the same time it annoyed him, as he could have done away with the ducks much sooner.

No matter, the situation would be rectified one way or another.

X

Tanks and jeeps were rolling into the city through the highways, transportation filled with soldiers getting ready to start the unexpected war that was to begin in this city.

Young soldiers nervously marched into the streets of the city, knowing that they would be fighting an internal war that could impact the world if they failed.

In different places, at slightly different times, select officers noticed movement where there shouldn't have been any. It was this high level of observation that kept casualties down as explosions began to rock the streets, separating platoons from each other… some in the city, and some out of it.

X

The ducks retreated as their secret entrance exploded inwards.

"Retreat!" Wildwing and Canard both shouted.

X

Klegghorn rolled off his bed at the first sound of alarms and muffled explosions. Faint screams could be heard as agents began running down the halls to the same direction.

With a wince, he adjusted his grip on his laser gun and began to pull off the patches off his arm. He made his way to the supply cabinet and was glad to see packaged scrubs next to clean linens. He really didn't want to go running around in just socks and a medical gown. He tore into the package and slipped the pants on, setting down the laser just a moment to roll up the legs.

He had just thrown on the top when another distant blast sent a tremor through the structure. The lights above flickered and then dimmed, alerting him to the fact that the building was now running on emergency power.

As made his way out of his room, sending a silent prayer that Danny was safe.

X

Danny woke up in bewilderment. Something had roused him from his sleep but he wasn't sure what it was.

He lay in his bed for a moment. A flash of light and a distant boom had him jumping from his bed.

Staring out his window for a moment, he scrambled to find his television remote and flipped it on.

"…city is under attack. Once again, this is a city wide emergency. Armed forces were ambushed and the city is under attack. We ask all residents to seek shelter where possible and take precautions while evacuating if there are explosions in your area. If not, we urge you to remain where you are…"

A shaky anchorwoman was giving the broadcast and Danny glanced at the small safe by his bed side.

He was only a cadet, but he wondered if his father constantly felt like what was coursing through his mind right now. His city was in danger and he needed to help protect it.

X

Phil was sound asleep when the sounds of sirens, screams, and explosions in a distance woke him up.

Rushing to the window, he could see smoke and bursts of lights several blocks away.

People were beginning to rush out to the street as emergency vehicles were rushing to the scenes.

So Dragaunus was beginning his attacks.

With a heavy feeling in his stomach, Phil reached for his communicator and began to try contacting the Ducks.

"Guys, the city is under attack!" he called out, getting through to Wing.

"We know! So are we!" was Wing's response shortly before being cut off.

Phil swallowed hard as he tried to get a hold of them again and failing.

"Oh man," he muttered as he ran to his closet. Pulling the doors open, he dropped to his knees in front of a safe. With trembling hands, he turned the dial and opened it, revealing a puck blaster in a holster.

He grabbed it as well as a belt and a pair of pants from a hanger and shut the closet door.

The city was in chaos and the ducks were in trouble. Even though he wished he were on the other side of the continent, Phil knew that he was going to have to be prepared to fend for himself. Although hiding under his bed sounded like a good idea too.

X

Dragaunus laughed as he could see the ducks retreating on his video feed.

They were on the run and the city above was in growing chaos.

Within a short time, his crystals would be ready to complete the circuitry to power his dimensional portals and he would be set to rule the word.

_To be continued_

**On the next episode of Mighty Ducks**

Canard's finger twitched, ready to pull the trigger of his puck blaster. Waiting was an issue for him right now but he knew for the safety of his team they had to wait for Klegghorn's signal on the attack.

"Did we confirm what his signal would be?" Mallory asked.

Canard shook his head. "My guess is it's big if he wants us a certain distance behind the group."

A blast rattled the floor as half of the droid's force fell through a hole in the floor.

"Think that's the signal?" Mallory asked in awe.

"Move in!" shouted Canard as he began firing at the group remaining on the same level.

X

Tanya pulled up her GPS unit to figure out where she was compared to the others. By the looks of it, Wildwing and Dive must have had a simpler path with minimal turns as they were considerably further away from Duke and herself.

And she could see that they were in direct route to a cluster of warehouses.

"Underground!" she groaned, realizing why they were having trouble locating the Saurians. They were using the warehouses from underneath.

A shuffling sound caught her attention and she whirled around.

"Duke?" she called out.

X

Canard, Wildwing, and Dragaunus were the first ones to notice something was wrong.

A breeze that shouldn't exist was picking up moment, and glancing towards the portal, they saw that a vacuum vortex was forming.

Alarmed, Wildwing focused on Nosedive who was unconscious.

Tanya, being a bit closer, realized what was happening before she could feel the effects.

"The portal is inversing! It's gonna pull things in!" she shouted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a bit more and the season finale will be posted. :) Did anyone catch some of the references made? Here are two hints. 2 of them are Disney related, movies to be exact... and the other one was not a Disney show.
> 
> And now for a post credit scene....
> 
> Siege, Wraith, and Chameleon, stood behind Dragaunus.
> 
> "Where's Nightbloom?" asked Dragaunus, suspecting that the female had abandoned him again.
> 
> "Uh, she said something about seeing the destruction up close," Siege responded.
> 
> "And why aren't you guys out there?" Dragaunus growled.
> 
> "Uh… because with the droids we seemed a bit… um… superfluous?" Chameleon responded.
> 
> Dragaunus glared at them.
> 
> "We'll join the fight, my lord," Wraith wisely said.
> 
> All three Saurians activated their teleportation devices, each with their own destination in mind.
> 
> X
> 
> Nightbloom leapt across one roof top to another and stopped, staring at the destruction below.
> 
> Glancing at a small hologram coming from a handheld device, she could spot the markers indicating the locations of Dragaunus and his followers.
> 
> Looking back down over the edge as she put away the device, she saw that a group of humans were trapped between one wall of rubble and a group of drones moving in.
> 
> "Might as well do some work," she said to herself as she tied the end of a rope to a fire escape ladder's railing. Then she took a leap off the edge, disappearing into the smoke that was rising.


	3. Allies and Enemies: Sacrifices (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conclusion; The city wide battle has commences and the ducks and new CT agency scramble to stop Dragaunus. For a victory, sacrifices must be made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Final episode for season 2. Unlike previous installments, I won't include an extra scene after the bottom author's notes, mostly because I don't want to risk people not seeing it.

_**Previously on Mighty Ducks:** _

_Nosedive leaned up against the wall and slid down as Wildwing left his side to get information on both Klegghorn and to status with the others._

_The numbness he was feeling began to fade, only to be replaced by the horrible ache in his chest._

_He felt a warmth beside him as Wildwing sat next to him._

_The pain moved up to his throat and his eyes burned._

_"How are you holding up?" Wildwing asked, gently._

_Nosedive let out a choked sob. "I should have moved! If I hadn't frozen… if I had only moved… he wouldn't have… he wouldn't have…"_

_Wildwing let out a mournful sigh as he pulled in his brother close. "Easy, little brother," he murmured. "Don't give up hope. Klegghorn will pull through."_

_X_

_"With the exception of the human cop I took care of, none of you dealt a damaging blow to the ducks! And we didn't get that many of the crystals. In fact, you two didn't get any at all!" Dragaunus roared at his three henchmen, his greatest ire against Siege and Chameleon._

_"Sorry boss! We don't know what happened. We picked them up and they were already unstable."_

_From the side, Nightbloom watched, a small smirk on her face. It quickly vanished as she thought back to the battle in the labs. Her pride was still hurting from having been seen by one of the Ducks._

_X_

_"Guys, the city is under attack!" Phil called out, getting through to Wing._

_"We know! So are we!" was Wing's response shortly before being cut off._

_Phil swallowed hard as he tried to get a hold of them again and failing._

_"Oh man," he muttered as he ran to his closet.  
_

**Allies and Enemies: Sacrifices (Part 3)**

The building shook as blasts echoed off the walls.

Klegghorn held his laser gun close to his chest as he pressed against the wall next to the door. He slowly opened it, hearing the sounds of gunfire and screams. He carefully peered out and could see that some of the agents had their backs towards him, looking upwards to where most of the sounds were coming from.

So they were trying to keep the medical area covered.

No matter. Klegghorn moved forward to join the crew.

One of the agents was none other than Belle.

"Shouldn't you be home?" Klegghorn asked.

"Shouldn't you be in a med bed?" she retorted. "Either way, glad you could join us. Those blasted Saurians decided to go for a preemptive strike. Seems they were a bit more resourceful than we thought considering that after all this time they were so small scaled. Guess the attack a couple months ago gave them the confidence to just go all out."

"Cockiness," Klegghorn muttered. "But we aren't pushovers. They're gonna learn that lesson if it's the last thing we do."

X

"To the Migrator and Aerowing!" Wildwing shouted. "We can't let them get to those!"

The ducks scrambled to the hanger bay, shooting at the numerous drones making their way into their base.

The team split in two, Wildwing, Nosedive, Duke and Tanya taking the Aerowing, while Grin, Mallory and Canard took the Migrator.

Both vehicles shot out of the hanger bay and out into the open.

"Rendezvous at the CT base!" Canard called over their communication.

Tanya growled. "They're also under attack!" she said.

"Then we'll go for back up. We can't afford to lose another headquarters," said Wildwing. "We'll spot you from the sky."

"Oh my stars," murmured Mallory, once she had a good view of the city.

"What? What's going on?" asked Canard.

The rest of the team inside the Aerowing stared in shock.

"The city… the whole city is under attack."

Columns of smoke could be seen rising into the air as small explosions lit up the sky.

X

Danny pounded on doors. "Wake up!" he shouted. "Gather any family members and head south! Wake up any neighbors you can!" He then ran to the next house as someone would respond.

Seeing and hearing the distant explosions spurred the waking people into action.

Fear was a powerful motivator and Danny would use it to his advantage to get as many people to safety.

X

Phil could feel the sweat pouring off his face as he ran down his apartment hallway, banging on the doors and shouting, "The city is under attack! We got to get out of here now!"

"What should we do?" some panicked people asked.

"Move away from the fighting!"

"We can't just run away!" some people insisted.

"Then be prepared to defend your homes," Phil responded to them, slightly annoyed.

Fortunately, some people offered to take certain floors to spread the word.

Phil ran out to the garage and hopped into his car.

He drove over to a neighboring apartment complex.

Running into the main lobby, he tried to catch his breath. Where to start?

Glancing over, he spotted a small glass box with a switch.

A fire alarm.

Phil grinned. That would work.

X

The Aerowing swept down in front of the headquarters' entrance, blasting away any droids that were top side, clearing the path for the Migrator.

The Migrator ran down other droids and pulled up in front of the headquarters.

"Scanners are picking up that the droids are entering from underground!" Tanya cried out.

"We need to see if we can block them!"

"Wing, let me!" said Nosedive. "I mean, I've played enough games I'm pretty sure I can calculate a good hit!"

Wildwing gave his brother a worried glance but nodded. "Give it your best shot."

Nosedive aimed the Aerowing's weapons to the ground where Tanya's computers were showing the river of droids heading into the headquarters.

He opened fire.

Wildwing watched as the ground crumbled into a massive hole. Unfortunately, he was too late to stop the droids. Judging by the empty chamber, they had finished passing and no more were walking through.

He radioed the information to Canard as he landed the Aerowing.

"Backtrack their path," Canard ordered. "Find out where they came from. We'll move forward and offer assistance to the CT headquarters."

"Roger." Wildwing didn't even dispute the orders. His city was in danger and they needed to resolve this fast.

Exiting the Aerowing, Wildwing, Tanya, Nosedive, and Duke headed over to the opening they had made, meeting up with Canard, Mallroy, and Grin. Nodding to each other, they all dropped down the hole and then separated.

X

Nightbloom surveyed the scene before her. It seemed the human soldiers had reached a point in which they could make a stand. What peeked her interest was that even civilians had their own efforts going.

Somewhere along the way, she spotted a red headed youth leading a few others into herding the ones that were scared into safer locations.

Elsewhere, she had also spotted the broad shouldered manager. Despite his bumbling and selfish personality, there was a strong character underneath him.

She felt it unnecessary to waste her time in getting involved with either group. The militant humans… they were different.

She observed to see their tactics, and could see how resilient they were. Even though the technology was superior to their own, she could see how they could quickly adapt, seeking out weaknesses.

And by the looks of it, their defenses have already improved. If she was not mistaken, some of their defensive weapons looked like something the ducks had been using.

The sound of an air craft caught her attention and she could see the ship the ducks flew heading to the direction of the human's headquarters. Without another thought, she decided to teleport herself in that direction.

Once there, she spotted how the ducks were separating. It was almost certain that Dragaunus would find out what was going on and send reinforcements to delay the ducks.

She debated which group to follow before deciding on the larger group. Knowing Dragaunus, he would call for her to assist with that group as they ran the risk of locating the dimensional portal.

Dropping down into the tunnel, she used the shadows of the support beam to slowly follow the four.

X

Inside the CT headquarters, agents were slowly finding themselves back into corners with little chance for escape.

Agent Belle growled as she looked at Klegghorn. "Just got word that we have more drones breaking in from underneath us."

"So we're surrounded?"

"Not exactly. They're breaking into sub level 3. We still have sub levels 4 through 6 under that, including the Research and Development teams."

Klegghorn nodded. "I'll try to head them off with another group, maybe even find a way to get to any agents in those levels. Which way are they coming from?"

"The southern west labs."

"On it."

Klegghorn broke away, motioning to a few of the agents to follow him.

They made their way down the closest emergency stairwell, listening in for any exchanging fire before continuing down.

Sweat dripped down his forehead and he felt a bit dizzy. He knew he had no time to recover. Lives were at stake. He pressed forward and hoped that back up in the form of army or ducks would arrive.

X

Canard could hear gun and laser blasts up ahead and he motioned to the others to hold back. Raising up his arm, he pressed his communicator, hoping he'd get a hold of either Agent Belle or Klegghorn.

He was happy to see the red headed ex-captain on the screen.

"Boy, am I glad to see you guys," the human said.

"We're coming up behind the droids. There's three of us. The other four went backtracking where the droids were coming from.

"Listen, whatever help you can give us we'll take. I have a team heading to the lower sub levels so we can head back up the other way. Seems like they haven't found the emergency stairwells but no way of knowing if they've compromised the elevator shafts just yet."

Another blip sounded and Agent Belle showed up on the screen. "Klegghorn, check for the emergency ventilation shafts. The lower levels are equipped with those and will go up, so you may be able to take out a wall and ambush the droids. With the ducks coming up from the rear, we'll at least have a chance at eliminating a good number of them."

Canard grinned. "Ready when you are," he said.

X

It took Phil almost three minutes to realize his phone was ringing. He almost dropped it as he tried to answer while motioning which direction the people should be heading.

"Kind of busy," he shouted into the phone.

"Mr. Palmfeather? It's Danny, Klegghorn's son. I've been trying to get a hold of him and I've had no luck. Have any of the ducks heard from him?"

"Sorry, kid. I can't even keep contact with the Ducks longer than five seconds. Knowing them, they're probably at the headquarters. But if I get a hold of them, I can pass a message."

"Thanks. Listen, I'm pushing some people away from the battle zones. I've got an idea on where we can find shelter."

"I'm all ears, kid."

X

Wildwing, Duke, Tanya, and Dive were running down one of the tunnels. Wing's mask was giving clean readings of life forms and electrical signals except for the ones lining the tunnels.

Electrical currents were running through some wires and Wing could see that they were attached to some form of video surveillance.

Having met no opposition yet meant one of two things; they had not been detected yet, or they were heading towards a trap.

Whatever the reason, Wildwing knew they had no choice but to press forward.

Trailing the rear was Duke. While he had the stealth to move and scout ahead, he was relying on Wing's mask to alert them of any issues.

Not to mention, he couldn't help but feel as if they were being followed. Yet Wing's mask hadn't caught any readings, and even as he fell behind, he couldn't catch a glimpse of anything.

If they were being tailed, their follower was keeping enough distance between them to avoid detection.

Duke continued moving forward after the rest of his team. If the unknown tracker made a move, he would be ready.

X

"You really shouldn't be doing this, sir," said one of the agents to Klegghorn, as he hauled himself up into one of the shafts.

"I'm not going to ask one of my men to do something I'm not willing to do myself."

"But, sir! None of us were in a med bed an hour ago."

"Stop reminding me!" Klegghorn faltered as he felt the sharp sting of his laser burn. He did his best to ignore it again and continued to climb upwards.

He could hear the laser blasts of the droids nearby.

"Belle," he called into his comm.

"Go ahead."

"We're going to cause some extensive floor and wall damage here. Just make sure all the men are clear."

"Roger."

Klegghorn placed a small device against the wall before scooting back down.

He glanced at the concerned agent.

"Are the others in place?" he asked.

The agent nodded.

"All right! Fall back! I need everyone clear!"

X

Canard's finger twitched, ready to pull the trigger of his puck blaster. Waiting was an issue for him right now but he knew for the safety of his team they had to wait for Klegghorn's signal on the attack.

"Did we confirm what his signal would be?" Mallory asked.

Canard shook his head. "My guess is it's big if he wants us a certain distance behind the group."

A blast rattled the area as half of the droids' force fell through a hole in the floor.

"Think that's the signal?" Mallory asked in awe.

"Move in!" shouted Canard as he began firing at the group remaining on the same level.

X

Dust filled the air messing with the sensors on many of the droids, delaying their reactions.

As a result, the human agents donning masks were able to descend upon the crippled droids and finish them off.

Klegghorn glanced up and fired at some of the droids that were backing into the hole.

"Nice move!" he heard Belle call through his ear piece.

Klegghorn grinned. "We'll see you in a few. Moving up as soon as we're covered."

"It's Canard. Give us a few. We're pushing droids further in."

"Cease fire," Klegghorn demanded of his troop. "When the ducks pass, we'll move up."

X

An alarm began beeping on the Raptor's computer system. Perplexed, Dragaunus pulled up the information.

He growled in outrage as he saw that half of his troop in charge of destroying the CT base had been eliminated.

He brought up all the cameras to see what was going on.

"Curse those ducks!"

At the CT headquarters, one of his active droids was sending live feed of the battle. The group was being whittled away by the humans and three of the ducks.

But the only way for the ducks to be attacking from that position was for them to have come up behind them; which meant they had accessed his tunnels!

Flipping to the tunnel's security feed, Dragaunus let out a roar at discovering that the other four ducks were well on their way to back tracking the place where the droids had originated from.

"Wraith!" he roared.

"Yes, my lord?"

"Send Siege and Chameleon to intersect the ducks in the tunnels. You shall head to the headquarters and delay them as long as you can so they don't join up with the others. Where's Nightbloom?"

"Still unknown, sir."

"Of course," Dragaunus snarled. "Never around when needed. I'll head to the dimensional portal myself."

"Yes, my lord."

X

"Sir, you're still injured," admonished Mallory, noticing Klegghorn was not in uniform but in scrubs as one of the other agents helped to pull him up.

Klegghorn, who was visibly trembling, waved her off. "The city is under attack. I really don't have time to lie around. Did enough of that already."

Belle snorted. "You either have a high tolerance for pain or you are just recklessly stubborn."

Klegghorn gave her a wry grin.

Canard, Mallory, and Grin glanced at each other, eyebrows raised.

Another agent jogged up to the group.

"Agent Belle, RD informed us the prototype is ready."

"Then start it."

"Prototype?" asked Canard.

"They've been working on several projects, including a wider ranged jammer than the electric disrupter grenades we used during the lab attacks. It should stop those droids cold but it only has an effective range of 200 yards radius. It'll be enough to help us clear this building, but it's gonna be slow to weed out those top side."

"And you only have one functional prototype?"

"Untested on the field, too. Let's hope it works."

Five minutes later, two agents escorted one of the techs from below, carrying a briefcase.

Klegghorn grinned. "Great!" He motioned for the tech to hurry up.

The briefcase popped open and the technician quickly assembled a small tower and flipped some switches.

Klegghorn glanced up, listening to the laser fight up ahead.

"It's ready, sir!" the tech said just as Belle's voice came through his ear piece.

"Any time, guys!"

Klegghorn replied through his com link, "Power off and switch to manuals!"

He glanced at Canard. "Quick, shut off your com units!"

The ducks did as they were told and everything went dark except for the lights on the prototype and the bursts of lights from the laser blasts.

"Now!"

A click and a hum of electrical current was heard. It flared three times and the sounds of cheers could be heard from where the laser fight had still been taking place.

Lights flickered back on and Klegghorn turned on his communicator.

"Belle? Belle! Do you copy Agent Belle?"

"Loud and clear, Agent Klegghorn. The droids have successfully been deactivated. "

"Excellent." Klegghorn looked at Canard.

"Now that that's done… you guys haven't heard from Danny, have you?"

Canard frowned. "No… but maybe Phil has. We just haven't been able to talk with him either."

Klegghorn looked away.

"I'm sure he's okay, Klegghorn. Danny seems like a level headed kid."

"Yeah, he is." Klegghorn gave a wry grin. "More than me. But a phone call would be nice. Haven't had a chance to look for one."

"In that case, I recommend we give your son one of our communicators when we get the chance."

"What else is going on? Haven't exactly heard what it's like out there."

Canard took a deep breath.

X

Siege and Chameleon teleported into the tunnels with several droids.

"We have to keep them from going further," Chameleon said. "Best way will be to separate them."

A chirp from their communicators caught their attention.

"Thought you should know that four ducks are on a straight path to the dimensional portal," came Nightblooms' voice.

Siege growled. "We already know that! Lord Dragaunus isn't happy with you disappearing."

"Do you have a plan or are you going to waste time?"

The two glanced at each other.

"There is a fork further up ahead in the tunnel they currently are located. They'll be forced to separate briefly to recon the tunnel. It's doubtful they will remain separated for a long period of time."

The two continued trying to figure out where the female was going with the information.

"It would slow them down if they could not backtrack to regroup," she finally added with a dry tone.

"We knew that!" snapped Chameleon.

"What? We did?"

"It would have come to us. Let's go."

The Saurians headed down the tunnel in hopes of catching the ducks when after reaching the split in the path.

X

Nightbloom stood with her eyes closed, hand on one of the wires that were attached to the cameras. Her hand was slightly glowing as she utilized her magic to link up with the technology and observe the ducks.

They had already reached the fork in the row and looked to be debating on which way who would travel. Needless to say, Wildwing took Nosedive into one tunnel while the female Tanya and the sword fighter Duke took the other one.

She disconnected from the wire and looked at her hand as she flexed it. Mixing magic with technology always left her feeling a bit drained which is why she was delaying confrontations as much as possible. As she waited for Siege and Chameleon to arrive, she quickly made up her mind on which route to continue with.

She briefly wondered how long it would take the other ducks to wrap up at the headquarters and head this way.

X

Wraith materialized right behind the ducks inside of the CT headquarters. Unfortunately, he was not expecting that the humans would react as quickly as they had.

He barely had enough time to throw up a shield before bullets rained down on him followed by the pucks from the ducks' weapons.

He stepped back to brace himself.

It was a rather fatal mistake on his part. He had really hoped that he would have had some droids still fighting, but from the looks of it, they were all deactivated.

"This doesn't bode well for Lord Dragaunus," he moaned to himself.

He could only hope that his magic lasted long enough for the humans and ducks to run out of ammo so he could unleash a blast of his powers.

X

Wildwing and Nosedive continued running down the tunnel before stopping.

"What is it?" Nosedive asked.

"I'm reading a large opening up ahead." He quickly got on his com unit. "Tanya, Duke, I think I'm coming across something on my end."

"Regroup?"

"Yeah. We'll move ahead at a slower pace and get a better look."

X

Tanya sighed.

"Good thing we didn't run all this time," Duke said with a grin, despite his feathers still on end. He just knew they were being followed.

But he still hadn't caught sight of his follower. Hopefully this way he would increase his chances of spotting him or her, or at the very least evidence of the follower.

X

"About time," Nightbloom murmured as Siege and Chameleon arrived. The two males threw her a look. She pointed down the paths.

"The ones named Wildwing and Nosedive went down that way. The ones known as Tanya and Duke went the other way."

Siege grinned. "I'll take the team captain."

Chameleon grinned. "I'll take the broad. I'm sure I'll be able to handle one eye."

"I will block one of the paths before following the other."

"Won't that trap one of us?"

Nightbloom rolled her eyes. "The tunnels all end in the same place. It'll just take longer to reach it."

Chameleon snorted and quickly headed down the path that the female and male combo had taken.

Siege growled and headed down the direction of Wildwing and Nosedive.

Nightbloom waited for a bit. Then she raised her hand and waved it around the opening of the tunnel that Chameleon had gone down into. Concrete crumbled and metal rusted. She then pulled out her katana and swiped over the damaged area causing it to cave in.

With a smirk, she vanished.

X

Wraith growled as he was continually bombarded by projectiles.

He just needed one moment to fire some sort of spell to annihilate the humans and ducks. Just one.

But they weren't letting up and he was getting tired.

Unfortunately, Canard seemed to realize the Saurian's dilemma. He looked at Belle and Patterson who had joined their side.

"If we keep this up, he won't be able to fire a shot. But we need him to drop his shield long enough to get some type of shot in."

"Pity we're not in the prisoner levels. We have the prototype containment unit and the floor's rigged for an electrical charge."

"What do you mean?" asked Mallory.

"Magic is a type of power. What if our electrical disrupters affect him? We've never had constant access to magic to test both theories. We could just use one of the grenades."

Canard raised an eyebrow. "Constant access?"

"We've been exploring lots of possibilities."

"Well, it sounds like a plausible theory. Can't hurt at this point. We might run out of bullets before he runs out of juice."

Belle nodded and motioned for one of the agents to get her one of the disrupter grenades.

Klegghorn couldn't help but chuckle as he took a few more shots. "Very plausible considering I never had the reload a clip in my gun while working Anaheim's PD."

"And we've never tested how many shots our laser blasters can do before needing a recharge."

Mallory glanced at her puck launcher. "Well we are running low on ours."

An agent came up with one of the grenades.

"Grin, why don't you toss it so we minimize the chances of anyone getting in the way of our shots?"

Grin took the grenade and lobbed it at Wraith.

Meanwhile, the Saurian braced himself as he saw something larger arc through the air towards him.

If it was one of those human's explosives, he knew he needed to exert just a bit more power to avoid being thrown across the hall.

The grenade impacted his shield, and rather than a blast, a scattering of electricity danced across his shield.

He faltered momentarily, feeling his shield weaken.

He pulled it back up full strength… but not before a blasted puck bypassed it and struck his chest, sending a shock wave throughout his body.

The Saurian wizard collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

X

"Did you hear that?" asked Tanya, stopping from moving forward.

Duke glanced at her, sidestepping a horrid looking rat as it scurried past him.

He nodded and they both jogged back towards the direction of the sound. They stopped short seeing that the tunnel had collapsed, completely blocking their way back to the other tunnel.

"Wing, we have a problem. We've been blocked in."

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine. But it doesn't look like it happened on its own."

Duke pointed at several of the concrete rubble that had scorch marks to Tanya.

"Move further ahead then but be careful. These tunnels should at least head towards the same location since the drones were all moving the opposite direction."

"Copy."

X

Wildwing moved forward with Nosedive trailing behind him, puck blaster out.

"How far for that opening?" Dive asked.

"About 100 meters if the readings are right. I can see a surge of electrical power coming from it."

"Do you think it's the Raptor?"

"Not the same kind of power readings. Whatever it is, it's big."

A roar startled them and as they whirled around, a big mass of red collided into Dive and Wing, sending them to the ground.

X

Duke and Tanya stopped. "Great, another fork in the road."

"Which way should we go?"

"You're asking me?"

"Should we split up?"

Duke held back his answer. "Tanya, we're already down to us two. I don't know if it's a good idea to go solo."

"Well it's not like anything can come up behind us. We already know there's nothing there. We can cover more ground this way and see if we can find a point in which these tunnels meet or an opening to top side. I mean, these tunnels look like they're running parallel to sewers and power lines. And if we see anything, we report and come back to regroup."

"That's what we were supposed to do with Nosedive and Wing."

"Well, yeah, but anyone could have followed us from the beginning."

And Duke knew that someone did. He gave her a cautious nod. If their stalker was somehow still on their trail, he couldn't help but feel like they would want to single him out. What better way than to be solo."

"Ok. But you call me immediately if you see any sign of trouble."

Tanya gave him a grin. "Not a problem."

Tanya waved back at him as she jogged down the right tunnel. Duke turned and went down the left.

Up above the rat watched the two ducks separate. With a grin, it dropped to the ground and transformed.

X

"What's this?" asked Canard as the human agents dropped Wraith into what looked like a glass bubble.

"A test. We'll find out if this actually works. Again, on the theory that magic is energy based, this special prison is to negate that power rendering him a legit prisoner. To avoid accidental shock to human guards, it's kept up by those acrylic posts that shield the power cords charging the cell.

"And if it fails?"

Super Intendant Matthews came up behind them. "If it fails, then we eliminate him with extreme prejudice. Besides, we noticed that they could have teleported in here, but something kept them from doing so until those drones blasted a hole in our walls. So we may have inadvertently found a way to keep them out. Research and Development are to begin finding out what in our structure disrupts their technology to make further advancements in shields and weapons. A failsafe mechanism will trigger to seal the exits to this room should the cell not work and he releases any magical powers."

Canard nodded. "That's pretty… thorough," he commented, uncertain how he felt about the human admitting that they would just kill Wraith.

He tried to explain to himself that had the situation been reversed, the Saurians wouldn't have even entertained the possibility of keeping them prisoners.

He looked to Grin. "If they have this taken care of, we better head out and see if we can meet up with Wing."

"Agreed."

Matthews nodded. "We'll get in contact with the National Guard and let them know that we have a way to stop drones in close proximity."

Canard looked at Mallory. "See if you can contact Phil and let him know the situation. I'm sure he'd appreciate the update. And pass Klegghorn's message."

X

Phil shut down his communicator and looked at the large group of frightened people. So far they had headed a good distance from the combat but sounds of laser fights could still be heard. As much as he wanted to find official help, he knew they had their hands full with the droids.

"We'll stay our ground here for now. Word is the CT agents are holding their own and have stopped the advancement of the droids on the headquarters attack. They're going to offer their experimental weapons to the army to help with the city attack."

"What if they come from underground?" asked a man.

"I'm sure they'll figure out how to track them. For right now, I suggest you try to get some rest. We may be here a while until the National Guard can get to us."

People restlessly settled down and Phil couldn't help but feel pride that he was actually keeping people safe.

He flipped his phone open to call Daniel Klegghorn and give him the news.

X

Danny watched over his group of frightened people. He continued to monitor the situation, granted that there were more people out there willing to do as he had said.

If only Commissioner Lyons hadn't been one of the people he had picked up.

"Marvelous job," he was saying, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. "Are you a soldier in training?"

"No, sir. I'm a police cadet."

"Well then! I know I'm in a need of some good men. Maybe I can put in a word for you and have you on my team!"

Danny grimaced. "That's okay, sir. I like getting to where I need to be on my own."

"Nonsense. We all need a helping hand."

Danny mentally frowned. Considering how this man treated his father, he knew what Lyons meant. He would be willing to lend a hand as long as Danny helped improve his image but not surpass it.

"I'll think about it, sir."

"No, seriously. What is your name?"

Danny's phone began to ring, giving him a viable excuse to move away from the egotistical man. He shot him a quick glance and smirked as he answered. "Daniel Klegghorn here." With that, Danny moved away from the stunned man to get his information from Phil.

X

Up ahead in his tunnel, Duke could see that the lights were dim. But that also allowed for him to notice that there was a light moving as its glow reflected off the walls.

Someone was carrying some kind of light source and was moving down further in the tunnel.

He raised his wrist to contact the others and stopped. There was a chance that his voice would carry through and alert whoever was down there to his presence.

He readied his saber and quietly trailed after the disappearing light.

X

Tanya pulled up her GPS unit to figure out where she was compared to the others. By the looks of it, Wildwing and Dive must have had a simpler path with minimal turns as they were considerably further away from Duke and herself.

And she could see that they were in direct route to a cluster of warehouses.

"Underground!" she groaned, realizing why they were having trouble locating the Saurians. They were using the warehouses from underneath.

A shuffling sound caught her attention and she whirled around.

"Duke?" she called out. A rat scurried past her, causing her to let out a muffled shriek.

"Stupid rodent," Tanya breathed out with a nervous laugh, embarrassed that she let such a small thing scare her.

"I resent that remark," came a familiar voice.

Tanya stumbled back as the rat transformed into the Chameleon.

"Hello, girly!" the Saurian said with a wicked grin.

X

Belle frowned as Mallory and Grin drove their duck cycles into the tunnel, utilizing the pile of debris as a ramp.

Klegghorn just looked irritated as Canard pushed him a bit closer in a wheel chair.

"This is humiliating," he complained.

"Well, it was this or attempting to catch you when you finally fainted."

"I wouldn't have fainted!"

"You are an interesting shade of grey. There's being stubborn and being reckless."

Belle smirked at hearing his comment.

Canard gave a cheeky grin as Klegghorn turned his head to glare at him.

"Yes. I agree with Agent Belle."

Belle sighed. "I still don't like you guys heading in without backup, but…"

"The National Guard is gonna need your assistance in stopping the droids. And part of our team is already tracing their source of origin."

"They should be able to handle it," Klegghorn gruffly commented.

Canard grinned.

Belle motioned to one of the agents. "Take some of our electrical disrupters. Never know if you'll be needing them."

Canard took four of the grenades from the agent. "Thanks," he said. "And take care of Klegghorn for us," he added with a wink.

Belle coughed as Klegghorn somehow managed to flush a light pink.

Without another word, Canard dropped down to join Mallory and Grin. He jumped on Mallory's bike and together they drove in the direction of their team mates.

X

Wildwing and Dive barely had time to catch their breath as Siege's heavy and powerful tail swung around and caught them around their stomachs.

They crashed into the wall for a second time.

Wildwing rolled away from his brother in hopes to either delay the next attack or at the very least move Siege away from his brother.

Standing up he noticed that Siege went after Nosedive who had moved towards the same direction they were heading. Was he trying to keep them from going further into the tunnel? If so, then they were on the right track.

"Dive!" he shouted.

Nosedive moved up against the wall as Siege circled around him.

He threw himself to the ground and Wing began to fire his puck launcher. Siege raised his arm, blocking some of the shots.

Nosedive began to fire from his blaster as well, aiming for Siege's feet.

Siege roared in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

"Move ahead!" Wildwing ordered. Nosedive turned to run as Wildwing shot a stun puck at Siege.

Siege twitched and lay still, groaning.

It wasn't going to last long. He and Dive needed to advance as far as he could before Siege got up and came after them again.

X

Tanya's heart beat against her chest as she dodged Chameleon's fist. Like last time, he had transformed into a female boxer, clearly attempting to win like last time. And Tanya was determined to attempt to avoid him touching her.

But she also noticed that he quickly moved to block her from going further.

So the tunnel would eventually lead to where she needed to go. That or he was determined to push her back to a dead end.

She threw up her shield as one of his punches landed really close. That punch pushed her back a bit.

Chameleon grinned and transformed into a larger creature that looked like a mutated muscle man. He roared and pulled back his fist. Tanya grunted as she slammed against the tunnel's wall. A backhand from Chameleon sent her reeling to the floor.

Tanya coughed as she tried to get up, but Chameleon grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her back, spinning her around and throwing her into the wall.

He reached for her again and she pulled out her blaster in time to shoot a stun puck.

It grazed Chameleon enough to make him fall back in pain, his arm growing limp.

"You miserable duck!" he snarled as she got up and forced herself to run, trying to think of what she could do.

"I'm under attack!" she said on her comm.

"We're en route!" came Canard's voice.

"My tunnel was blocked."

"We've got Grin!"

The echo of Chameleon's enraged roar alerted her that he was closing in.

She picked up speed and turning the corner, she suddenly remembered the sight of Nosedive throwing Grin to the mats. She may have not practiced the move, but it was her only chance.

Hardening her resolve, she turned around and waited.

Chameleon came into sights and he cackled as he continued barreling towards her.

He threw a fist, which she grabbed, pulled back… and tossed him over her.

Chameleon slammed into the nearby wall, transforming into his old self. He groaned and passed out.

With a satisfied nod, Tonya limped back in the direction she had come from.

"Take your time, guys. Crisis averted," she said proudly.

X

Duke paused. Somehow, he had lost whomever he was following as his tunnel connected to another. Although, judging by the way the right one turned, it looked like it would be the one Tanya would eventually come in through.

His communicator beeped and Tanya's message about being under attack came through. He turned to run down the tunnel thinking that it may have been who he was following. Two minutes later he heard the "Crisis averted."

"Tanya, I think I found a connection between your tunnel and mine."

"I see you on my scanner. ETA five minutes."

"Who was it?" asked Canard over the comm.

"Chameleon. He apparently had been following me in the form of a rat."

"I saw someone ahead. It may have been Siege or Wraith."

"We just left Wraith incarcerated at HQ."

"Siege is immobile behind us, but probably not for long," came Wing's winded voice.

"Well someone was ahead of me. Maybe it was Lord Dragaunus. We must be heading in the right direction."

"Keep moving then."

"We're gonna need help!"

Nosedive's frantic voice caught their attention and Duke and Tanya began to run.

X

Dive and Wing barely had time to duck when they emerged from the tunnel into the wide space that looked almost like a large basement. Stairs leading up indicated there was a building above, and judging by the size, a warehouse or even an air plane hangar. The only things they were able to make out before lasers started firing in their direction was the Saurian technology obviously built in to make what looked like a massive bay door open from underneath. And there was a large machine that had to be the dimensional portal device. Or at least two separate pieces that were connected by a growing portal.

The portal itself was large enough for aircrafts to fly through.

Dragaunus stood by the controls but he wasn't bothering to turn around to face the two.

Instead, his droids that were helping guard the machine began firing.

"You keep them from coming near this machine!" Dragaunus snarled. "Wraith, Siege, Chameleon? What are you morons doing? And where's Nightbloom?!"

X

Nightbloom stood hidden in the metal rafters that Dragaunus had installed under the building to keep it secure enough. Having created this giant structure underneath made the topside floor weak and the last thing that had been needed was for a cave in to occur.

Fortunately for her, it gave her plenty of hiding spots.

Her eyes narrowed at the sight of the portal slowly growing.

So the ducks were a bit slow. Or most of them were. The current team captain and his brother were currently involved in a laser fight with the droids.

She quickly moved her way through the rafters and tying a rope to one of the bars, silently dropped to one of the machines.

Looking at the crystals that were helping power it, she reached in and twisted one of them. It flashed brightly and a humming sound went through the machines. She quickly retreated back to her rope and climbed up, pulling her rope in and waited.

The portal began to grow at a faster speed.

She grinned.

X

Dragaunus laughed in victory as he noticed that his dimensional portal suddenly increased in its productivity and the portal itself was growing larger.

"Now if only my General is ready for the attack," he grumbled. The portal was big enough for the single rider carriers to ride through, but so far nothing. Was his general waiting to bring them all in using the big space ships?

X

Siege groaned as he pushed himself up.

"Cripes," he groaned. "I learned to fight them individually. Haven't considered looking to see what they would do when teamed up."

"Wraith, Siege, Chameleon! What are you morons doing?"

Siege cringed. "On my way, Lord Dragaunus."

The hefty saurian teleported to the hangar bay area, knowing it was pointless to keep it hidden now.

X

Chameleon startled awake at the sound of his boss's steamed voice coming through his communicator.

"Oh, am I in trouble now," he muttered, trying to steady himself as he stood up.

"Where did the geek learn that move?" he asked himself. He had been sure of an easy victory as it was almost a replay of their previous encounter.

No matter. Dragaunus needed them and they had to hurry.

He teleported out of there. If Dragaunus was calling, the hiding spot had been found out.

X

Duke and Tanya arrived in time to start shooting at one of the droids that was closing in on the trapped Wing and Dive.

The droids' attentions were divided between the two groups but were relentless with their attacks.

"What do you think?" Tanya shouted.

"I think we should separate them a bit more, but look for appropriate cover!"

It would most likely be a bad call if they did draw droids after them but had no way of defending themselves.

Duke and Tanya separated, using some of the large crates and support beams for cover.

Several exposed underground water pipes added to the confusion as the droids moved their way around it, identifying the metal pipes as blocks in their paths and sidestepping around it.

Dragaunus completely ignore them, shielded by some of the droids as he continued to manipulate his dimensional portal that was quickly growing in size.

A moment later, Chameleon and Siege appeared, firing in all directions. They slowly backed up to Dragaunus, giving him more cover.

"Where's Wraith?" growled out Dragaunus.

"We don't know," responded Chameleon.

Wondering if the third Saurian was in hiding, Duke got in contact with Tanya. "Make sure you keep an eye on any other teleportations. We've got Chameleon and Siege back here with us. Wraith is MIA."

"Wraith is currently in confinement," said Canard. "We're almost there. We can hear you guys."

That encouragement had Duke feel a bit braver and he began to move further to the side. Once the other three arrived, they would really be spaced out and try to eliminate the droids. Unlike the previous encounters, this time the number was manageable. And if they managed to find a way to shut the droids, then the people of Anaheim would have a better chance.

The motorized sounds of their bikes caught their attention. Within moments, Canard, Mallory, and Grin rode into action. Firing their blasters, Canard jumped off Mallory's bike and rolled behind the crates that Duke had previously been using.

Mallory and Grin also leapt off their bikes, and the momentum of the cycles sent them crashing into two of the nearest droids, taking them out.

They also dashed for cover, firing as they went.

"Keep them back!" Dragaunus shouted.

Wildwing and Dive, having most of the attention drawn, began trying to circle their way around towards the dimensional portal machine.

Canard, seeing this, decided it was a good time to use one of the electrical disrupter grenades.

He was uncertain if he could hit the device, but he had a good clear shot for some of the droids. With any luck, once they were down, the other would move to fill the void and focus on him as a viable threat.

He threw it to the droids closest to the brothers.

It hit the droids in the torso region causing it to shake violently before collapsing to the floor. Three other droids that were standing next to it were also affected as the pulse reached out like tendrils and connected to the metal plates making up the droids.

They didn't collapse, but they clearly powered down as they slumped forward in their current positions.

The other droids began to focus on Canard. Looking to his left and right, he threw a grenade in Mallory's and Grin's direction, motioning with his hand for them to wait for a bit before throwing it.

They each nodded.

X

Wildwing and Nosedive noticed that the barrage of laser shots that were heading their way diminished. Risking a chance, Wildwing noticed that they were headed to where Canard was currently hiding out.

Concerned for his former team captain, Wildwing knew that he needed to use the opportunity to get closer to Dragaunus. He moved to dart around Nosedive and was stopped.

"Where are you going?" Dive asked, holding onto his arm tightly.

"I'm going to ambush Dragaunus. Stay here and keep covered."

"Bro, no. If you go, I go. There's no way I'm letting you head off against him by yourself."

"We don't have much choice, Dive. I have to."

"And I'm coming with you! No matter what, two is gonna be better than one against him."

Wildwing mentally sighed. His brother was right. With the others pinned down, he only had Nosedive as back up.

"Fine. But be careful. We'll only have on shot at this."

X

Canard motioned towards Mallory who hurled the next grenade. She hit one droid that was point robot to a team of seven. Their proximity was also impacted by the pulse and all eight droids deactivated. As a result, they all began firing in her direction.

Canard dove out from behind his hiding place and rushed to where Wing and Dive were.

But when he got there, they were already gone. Looking around, he spotted that they were closer to Dragaunus who was still focused on his machine. The portal was large enough for an airship to come in. The portal needed to shut down and soon.

X

Mallory scrambled to a more secure cover than the crates she was behind. Ducking behind one of the steel pillars, she was forced to dive to one side as both Siege and Chameleon emerged from the tunnels, laser guns shooting.

She rolled towards Grin and got up with enough time to activate her shield and protect them from the lasers.

Siege let out a grunt of pain as one of the droid's shots singed his shoulder, having not stopped shooting as they followed Mallory.

Chameleon's height saved him as a couple shots hit the wall above his head.

"Stupid droids!" Chameleon shouted.

Mallory glanced back at Grin.

"Where's Tanya?"

Grin nodded towards a direction further away. "She's trying to get to the portal."

Mallory risked a glanced at the portal and saw a couple things. Nosedive and Wildwing were dashing towards Dragaunus who looked as if he hadn't noticed them yet.

She could also see Tanya darting out from behind another pillar also heading towards the portal but was considerable further away.

Unfortunately, Chameleon also spotted them.

"Boss! Look out!"

With that, the Saurian transformed into an eagle and flew in the direction of Tanya.

Dragaunus whirled around to face Nosedive and Wildwing.

Turning back around, she spotted Siege charging the two of them. She braced herself.

He collided into the shield throwing her into Grin and sending them crashing to the floor.

X

Tanya, having heard Chameleon shout, was prepared when the Saurian landed in front of her. Mid transformation she was already sweeping at his feet and he slammed into the ground, losing his laser gun.

She dove for it as he also scrambled for it.

X

Dragaunus swept his arm across just in time to catch Wildwing across the face and send him flying back. Nosedive, however, was just enough to the side to avoid being hit by Wildwing and leapt up high enough to bring his feet against Dragaunus's chest, forcing him to stumble back.

Nosedive also stumbled a bit as he landed, but quickly regained his footing and held out his puck launcher.

Dragaunus whirled around and his tail caught Nosedive by the feet and send him colliding into the ground. Dragaunus raised his arms, claws grasping each other, to bring them down on the fallen young duck. But before he could swing down, Wildwing tackled him, catching him by the stomach.

Both of them hit the dashboard of the portal just as an alarm suddenly began to sound.

The portal began to change color.

Dragaunus, noticing the change, roared in anger. He shoved Wildwing off of him and got up to look at the dashboard. Most of it was damaged from the impact except for a small cracked screen that flashed the words "Danger: Overload: Reversing Polarity: Emergency Failsafe Malfunction."

"Curses!" shouted Dragaunus as he yanked the dashboard off. The portal began to warp in shape as the crystals turned a different color. Despite not being connected to the operation controls, it looked like the portal had taken a life of its own.

Dragaunus swung the control panel down over Wildwing, stunning the mallard.

Nosedive rushed towards them and Dragaunus swung the panel upwards, catching Nosedive from under his chin, snapping his head up. Dragaunus reached out and grabbed Nosedive by his armor before the young male fell back to the ground and lifted him up.

"I don't know why I bothered all this time," Dragaunus growled. "But pushing you out of my mind allowed me to proceed with a clearer vision."

He turned and threw Nosedive towards some of his droids.

Nosedive collapsed to the ground with a groan as the droids ignored him, focused on the ducks with the weapon that was taking them down.

Dragaunus turned in time to have Wildwing plant a punch across his jaw. Dragaunus let out another swing, catching Wing with enough force to send him in Nosedive's direction.

He stormed his way towards them, raising the console one more time to bring it down on both brothers.

From behind, Canard body slammed him, pushing him over and past Nosedive and Wildwing.

X

Noticing the color the portal had taken, Nightbloom decided it was time to go. With all the massive energy swirling about, it would be difficult to magically transport out. So she began to make her way towards the stairs that would lead to the actual warehouse.

X

Tanya landed a couple of blows into Chameleon's stomach, causing him to release his laser gun. She threw it halfway across the room and proceeded to relentlessly throw punches and kicks to keep him from having time to transform.

A crash of crates caught her attention and she saw that Grin and Mallory were now exposed to enemy gunfire.

Looking back at the portal, she could see that something was already going wrong.

She pulled out the last of the grenades and threw it towards the drones firing at her team.

She let out a yelp as Chameleon's transformed body swung a large arm towards her face.

She grabbed on and swung her body up, ankles catching muscle man Chameleon around the neck, causing the saurian to choke and revert back to his smaller self.

Both fell to the ground.

X

Between the three battles going on, Duke was torn about who to aid. Then he noticed movement above.

Eyes tracking the movement, Duke felt his heart race as he caught sight of his ultimate target.

The female saurian was moving away from the battle, possibly making an escape. Typical Saurian… abandoning her team in their time of need.

He used his grappling hook to swing his way across the room and land in front of the female just as she dropped to the ground.

Katana and saber clashed as she quickly reacted.

"Not so fast, toots!" Duke said with a grin.

"Fool!" the female snarled. "The dimensional portal is unstable. It would be wise for you and your friends to leave as soon as possible."

"And let Dragaunus bring in his armada? I don't think so!"

Duke began to lunge forward with his attacks, pushing the female back, even though she expertly deflected his moves.

Narrowing her eyes, she began to counter attack.

X

The portal warped again and slowly began to form an inward vortex.

X

Canard, Wildwing, and Dragaunus were the first ones to notice something was wrong.

A breeze that shouldn't exist was picking up moment, and glancing towards the portal, they saw that a vacuum vortex was forming.

Alarmed, Wildwing focused on Nosedive who was unconscious.

Tanya, being a bit closer, realized what was happening before she could feel the effects.

"The portal is inversing! It's gonna pull things in!" she shouted.

X

Nightbloom's and Duke's swords and sabers were clashing nonstop, meeting each parry and thrust with a block and countermove.

Duke had never felt so alive in sword play, which was ironic since he knew a wrong move would result in death.

The battle seemed like it could go on forever, and if he were willing to give it a poetic description, he would have said it was like an intimate dance.

"Look at the machine!" the female growled through clench teeth. "The crystal is unstable! It won't just open a portal. It'll create a vacuum!"

"And why should I trust you? You haven't told your fellow Saurians that. Were you planning on just letting them get sucked up?"

"Yes!"

Duke faltered and she managed to knock his hand up and outward, leaving his chest open for an attack.

She reached out and knocked his chest with the handle of her katana. "Vacate the premises now!"

Duke felt a rush of air before he heard it. Glancing back, he could see that the portal had formed… like a tornado.

In the back of his mind, he knew that Mallory, Grin, and Tanya were in a position to find safety. Wildwing, Canard, and Nosedive were in harm's way. And judging by the strengthening of the suction, he was going to be in danger too.

The strength of the suction pulled him back enough that his movements slowed. The female saurian reacted as well, turning her back towards the suction and thrusting her swords hard into the ground at an angle. She must have used some type of magic to boost her strength because they went halfway into the ground, giving her something to hold onto as her feet slipped out from under her.

Duke had just enough weight and strength to throw himself in her direction and throw one hand around her waist and another to grab onto one of her katana.

"Argh! Let go!" she shouted.

"Sorry, toots. I'd be crazy to do so."

X

Tanya scrambled to hold onto the closest steel braces. Behind her, she could heard Chameleon attempting to do the same. But judging by his panicky voice, he wasn't succeeding.

"Help me, help me, help me!" he was crying out as his claws scraped along the floor slowly moving back. Grabbing her puck launcher, she changed her settings to use the pucks as bolas. Holding onto the steel bar with one hand, she aimed her puck launcher at Chameleon and fired.

The force of the bolas and the pull of the portal sent Chameleon flying into a nearby pole and the bolas wrapped around him, securing him. Then she held on with both arms as the force of the portal grew.

X

Mallory, Grin, and Siege paused as they realized that everything was going wrong.

Distracted at the sight of his boss and team mate in trouble, Grin pulled back a fist and punched Siege across the jaw, knocking him out.

Mallory motioned for Grin to grab him and together they hauled him into the hallway and around the corner where Mallory quickly tied him up.

She went to go back to the warehouse but Grin stopped her.

"It's too dangerous," he said, worry evident in his eyes.

"But they're in danger!"

"We're going to have to trust that they'll be okay."

X

Wildwing grabbed Nosedive as the suction of the dimensional portal grew stronger. He pulled the unconscious youth into his arms and desperately looked around to see if there was anything he could grab onto. Spotting a pipe, he dragged himself and Dive towards it and grabbed on just as the suction increased enough to start pulling him back.

A pained cry caught his attention and he turned to see Dragaunus had landed a hit on Canard, sending the mallard in their direction.

"Canard!" he shouted as he saw that he wasn't going to even hit the ground.

The dimensional portal pulled Canard past Wing, but the shout alerted him to react fast and the mallard reached out to grab Wildwing's leg.

Wing grunted with the added weight, but determination kept him from letting go of the pipe and his brother.

A scratching sound was heard and looking back to where Dragaunus was. The Saurian was being dragged across the floor, his claws trying to dig in to keep him steady.

Heart pumping, he knew that the Saurian was going to be passing them, and with both arms occupied, Wildwing was defenseless. Canard, hanging on to his leg, no longer had his weapon so he was also in a similar state.

The velocity of the wind picked up more, lifting them even more upwards.

Electric sparks began to fly from the machines, the sparks being sucked in immediately into the portal.

Dragaunus roared as he sailed past Wing.

His claws reached out and caught Canard's ankle, digging in.

Wildwing felt his grip weaken and Canard let out a muffled cry of pain as Dragaunus grabbed a hold of his other foot.

"If I go, you're all going with me!" the Saurian shouted.

Wing glanced up at the pipe, eyesight growing blurry with tears of desperation.

The others were trapped where they were; they could not risk themselves to save them. It would guarantee a quick trip into dimensional limbo. He could only hold on as long as he could and hope that the portal would overheat before he lost his grip.

For one harrowing second, he felt the weight disappear and then he found himself almost losing Dive.

Glancing back down, Canard had lost his grip on his leg and managed to snag Dive's ankle. But holding on was now even harder. He could see no way out.

X

Both Duke and the female were now lifted off the ground.

The Saurian threw a look over her shoulder, yellow eyes promising death. Then she looked down past him and an annoyed look crossed her face.

"Grab onto my katanas and do not let go!" she shouted, the sound of the suction having increased to the point that they now had to yell to be heard.

Duke took the chance to follow her order and let go of her waist to grab the other handle.

What followed took him by surprise that he almost let go.

The female moved her hands and twisted around to turn herself face up.

The position suddenly felt too intimate and Duke felt his face heating up. "Uh, what are you doing?" he asked.

The female ignored him, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"What are you doing?!" he repeated, his voice increasing in pitch.

She looked him in the eye. "Do not let go," she repeated, and let go of the handles.

Duke tightened his grip with her added weight and watched as she fumbled around for the rope at her waist, loosening it and then reaching around to wrap one end around his waist.

"I will aim for the support beam," she shouted into his ear. "When I wrap the rope around that, you will let go and land on the beam. Brace yourself against it."

"What?!"

"Your companions will not last long in their current position."

Duke twisted his head to look back in the direction of Wing and the others and saw that his captain was holding on by one hand to a pipe that ran into the ground, and that in his other arm, he was basically holding Dive, Canard, and Dragaunus.

"Crud," he muttered. He was going to have to trust the Saurian.

Without warning, the female released her grip around him and flew out from under him. He watched as she headed towards the portal and one of the support beams. His gut clenched as it looked like she almost missed the beam, but felt relief when he saw that she had landed on it. She reached around and wrapped the rope around the beam and then tied it around her waist. Her yellow eyes met his and she gave a nod as she let go of the beam and headed towards the portal and the others.

Duke took a deep breath and released his own grip. He grazed the floor as the rope guided him to the beam. Preparing himself for impact, Duke braced his legs and grabbed the rope as soon as he hit the beam.

The rope went taunt, and he could only pull back, unable to see what was going on.

X

Wildwing let out a cry as he felt both his grip on the pipe and his grip on his brother weakening. He knew, no matter what, that he would be unable to go on without his brother. If he had to let go, then he would let go and be with his brother, but he would not let go of his brother to save himself.

His fingers slipped and two grey hands wrapped around his wrist, jostling his small but quick ascent towards the portal.

Wide eyed, he looked up to see whom he assumed was the female saurian that Duke had mentioned.

"Nightbloom!" he heard Dragaunus roar.

A rope was tied around her waist and wrapped around one of her legs, giving her some stability.

"No, let go!" Wildwing shouted. "I'm losing grip on my brother! I'm not letting him go anywhere without me."

The female growled, but whether it was in annoyance or because of the strength she was exerting, Wildwing didn't know.

She looked past him at Canard.

"The time for betrayal is near," she said with gritted teeth.

Horrified, Wing looked down at Canard who was looking up in shock.

Her eyes glowed.

"Remember."

X

_There was no way of knowing how much time had passed since he let go of the mask and left Wildwing in charge. All he knew was once in limbo, the worm had let go in search of better energy he supposed. But once it was gone, he was all alone, floating in a vast space of nothing._

_He thought he would go mad._

_He didn't hunger… but he was thirsty… yet he didn't perish in the few days he expected to die. There was no way to tell if it was night or day… but he knew a lot of time had passed. Every second dragged out. He was dying an incredibly slow death._

_And he was going mad._

_He thought he was hallucinating when he heard the sound of an engine. It wasn't loud… just a soft whine of a space craft moving in space._

_He thought he was dreaming._

_Because who would be here in limbo and chance upon a stranded dimensional traveler?_

_He assumed he was finally dying and his brain was trying to cope with the trauma by giving him false hope… a realistic hallucination to ease his weary soul._

_He let himself go and closed his eyes, succumbing to darkness as a traction beam cast a bright light onto his floating body._

_X_

_He was on a med bed._

_Canard couldn't believe his eyes._

_He had something solid underneath him, and while he knew the lights had to be dim, everything was still bright to him. An IV was hooked up to his arm, and a mask was tied around his beak, providing oxygen._

_A machine was beeping to his side._

_Looking around, he could see that he wasn't in a building. The metal ceiling and floors let him know that it was a ship._

_But he couldn't tell whose ship it was._

_He could only hope that it was a potential friend. A foe wouldn't have nursed him back to health… unless it was for some devious purpose._

_He slowly moved out of the bed, mentally cursing to himself when his legs gave out underneath him. Taking a good look at them, he could see that they had atrophied._

_So at least three months had passed… possibly more._

_He gritted his teeth and stretched them out, testing to see how weak they really were. Having disconnected himself from the machines, he was a bit surprised to see that no one had come to check on him._

_Was the ship vacant?_

_No matter. Canard continued moving forward towards the door. Once there, he wondered if there was some code to get out. He stood staring at it, but then it just opened._

_A bit suspicious, Canard ventured forward, cautiously. He could see that there were no other forms of life nearby. The metal hallway was empty. This ship could be moderately sized, but he knew it could also be as large as the Raptor._

_But he could feel a slight hum underneath him, meaning that he was at the very least a level above the engines._

_In what seemed like an hour, he finally navigated himself around the halls to a doorway that looked important. Just like the med door, but unlike the other doors, it opened up on its own. With his legs aching and trembling, he carried forward._

_It was the navigation pod. There in front of him he could see stars flying past him as streaks. It was clear that this ship was currently using some form of hyper drive. Numerous lights lit up the buttons and levers on the console, and a holographic display of the universe marked the current location._

_But what was really amazing, and startling, was the being sitting in the captain's chair._

_Yellow serpentine eyes looked at him coldly. "Sit," said a female voice._

_Canard felt naked. A Saurian in front of him and nothing on him to attack and defend himself with. But she made no move to attack him, so he slowly made his way to the copilot seat and sat down, his legs barely holding him up now._

_"Were you part of the resistance that followed the one called Lord Dragaunus as he fled from Puckworld?" the female asked._

_"Yes," Canard warily responded as he slowly took her in. Wearing a lavender and emerald green dress in a style similar to the Mandarin Avian culture, she looked like nobility. A golden hair pin kept most of her long black hair up. The dress was short and underneath dark tights that tucked into boots that went over her knees allowed her enough mobility to defend herself if he attempted to attack._

_"You were floating in limbo. Where is the rest of you team?"_

_"I'm not sure. Whatever planet the dimensional portal opened up to."_

_The female hit a few buttons and levers and turned to face him._

_"I am Lady Nightbloom Calla Lily of East Sauria. I am also known as Nightbloom Firepassion of the Saurian Code. What can you tell me about the self-proclaimed lord?"_

_Canard felt suspicion and anger rising._

_"Why do you want to know?"_

_"I have been assigned to locate and detain the false lord by whatever means necessary until the rest of the Code can come to hold trial."_

_"What?"_

_The female Saurian sighed in what was possibly irritation. Unlike Dragaunus who has expressed rage or evil glee, and other Saurians that he had the misfortune of meeting, this female showed almost no emotion. It was kind of disconcerting. But the fact that she was looking to bring Dragaunus in as a criminal… it didn't make sense._

_"The lords of West Sauria broke treaty and attempted to become lords of the rest of the planet. Outmatched, they left to rule elsewhere. We of East Sauria, and founders of the Saurian Code, felt obligated to seek out the traitors and deal with them as deemed necessary. Of course our allies have assisted in giving the Saurian Code a ruthless reputation which assists in many things. Having some Western lords believe in our way of thought eases infiltration as well."_

_"What is the Saurian Code?"_

_"An organization with a high sense of honor and strict regulations, mallard. Now I repeat, what do you know of Dragaunus?"_

_X_

_Canard lifted weights with his legs, forcing himself to go above and beyond to regain his strength. His time with Nightbloom was strange these past few weeks. She kept questioning him about everything he had witnessed under Dragaunus's rule. It was strange to learn that not all Saurians were ruthless warlords._

_He had, in fact, participated in video conversations with Lady Nightbloom's father, his generals, and other races as well, including his own. And it was then that he learned just how far the Saurian rule had extended, and just how big the fight had become._

_He was also surprised to find out that not only was Lady Nightbloom nobility. She was considered royalty. He found himself gawking to see her fully dressed with a long kimono and elaborate head pieces whenever she spoke with her father and supporting generals._

_"Those traitorous western lords have infected many systems, ruining some planets and encouraging others to seek and damage neighboring galaxies. We are on the verge of a galactic war and there are many helpless planets that are not aware of the danger that is coming their way."_

_"Such as the one that my team landed on?"_

_Nightbloom had confirmed that this was the case, which concerned Canard. He had wanted to try to find his team._

_Nightbloom eventually found out where Dragaunus and his team had ended up._

_"Residue of the dimensional gateway's energy was still on your person," she said. "The system has finally been able to track to coordinates."_

_"Then why aren't we headed there?"_

_"Patience. You are not well and a careful plan must be made."_

_Her calm demeanor drove him nuts half the time._

_But while he trained his body, he learned several things as well._

_Her rules kept her from outright lying, but she excelled in misleading with her words._

_"That was your assumption, Thunderbeak," she would say when he would challenge her. It took him almost a month to just word his questions so that she had no choice but to give him a straight answer._

_By then, he also became part of regular video conferences._

_Months went by and then Nightbloom gave him some unexpected news when he approached her while she was cloaked in the shadows of her ship. Her outline could be seen as it blocked out the stars._

_"My father has initiated contact with the planet Earth, the one in which your team landed in. They have been holding well on their own, but they are not alone. Others have already infiltrated the planet for either defensive or offensive purposes and our teams are attempting to oust them. Your team has had the most exposure in public news casts. For that reason, my father wishes for us to go to Earth and aid the team."_

_"You mean we're finally seeking Dragaunus out to fight him?"_

_"Not quite."_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"We are to delay him and sabotage him until my father and the council has completed their mission and arrive to help take him into custody."_

_"What mission?"_

_"Infiltration and mutiny of Dragaunus's armada."_

_Canard remained silent for a moment._

_"Your father has been working on the inside of his armada?"_

_"And I shall work inside Dragaunus's team."_

_Canard struggled with the feeling of fear at the thought of Nightbloom dealing one on one with Dragaunus. It wasn't that he felt she couldn't handle herself. It was just knowing that she would be in there without any form of backup._

_"And if things go wrong?"_

_"I will have your help."_

_Canard scoffed. "How? You can't go to Dragaunus with me in tow. He wouldn't trust you. I'm having trouble believing that he would trust you going in alone! Surely he'll think something is up."_

_Nightbloom tilted her head to look at him, not looking the bit concerned. "You will be joining your team, building them up. And I have a plan that may wreak havoc on Dragaunus's emotions, although it may create some unnecessary tension amongst your team."_

_"I don't think I can do this."_

_"We have no choice. It's almost time."_

_"I don't want to go through with this."_

_"You must. And it won't matter. Come morning… you will forget the plan. But you will set in motion what I need to implement it."_

_"I don't understand."_

_"Emotions can be the downfall of any race," she murmured. "We will use one of your team's members to join Dragaunus with a spell, and when the timing is right, and trust has been given, I will find a way to break that spell and leave the war lord struggling with confusion."_

_"That's not answering my question."_

_"You did not have a question."_

_Canard stared at her. He tried again. "I don't think I'd be able to go along with that plan. I'll be too concerned for my team member's safety. And just how am I going to get to my team? The appearance of you and me will be highly suspect."_

_The female stared at him for a moment, the lights of the control panel reflecting off her eyes. For a brief moment, they looked cold and hard as always. Then they seemed to soften. Or at least appear soft enough to make his heart beat a bit faster like it had in the past couple months._

_"My dear Canard," she said softly, placing one hand against the side of his face. "Your team will not know of me."_

_"How? Why? And what do you mean that I won't remember in the morning?" His voice got louder and he felt hysteria, although he would deny it if asked about it, creeping into his voice._

_Nightbloom's eyes began to glow and a strange mist began to form around her hand. "The Saurian Code honors no lies, so truths must be veiled. Speak freely but reveal nothing. Listen to my orders and suggestions when I say that the time for betrayal is near. And fully awaken when I say remember."_

_His vision began to grow dark._

_As if it were all a distant dream._

_He tried to speak out against it, worried more for her safety than his own._

_And then nothing._

_A flash of light._

_And then he was surrounded by familiar faces… but… he couldn't help but feel that something important was forgotten._

_But maybe someday, he would remember._

_Remember._

"Remember."

X

Wildwing was confused and terrified. Did Canard know this female? What betrayal were the referring to?

"Don't you let go!" Dragaunus was shouting.

The female ignored them all, her eyes focused on Canard.

"I remember!" Canard shouted.

"Do you still trust me?"

Canard nodded.

"What's going on?" Wildwing asked, a bit of hysteria in his voice.

"Then do what is necessary."

Canard turned to look at Wildwing, seeing the confusion in his friend's eyes.

"Wildwing… Just remember… not all was what it may have seemed. Watch after them. Watch after all of them. After all, you're team captain."

"What?"

Canard let go.

"Canard! No!"

Canard and Dragaunus flew up into the portal.

And disappeared as the device caught fired and began to lose power.

A small explosion sounded and everyone who had been holding on fell down to the ground.

X

The loss of Dragaunus seemed to stun the other two Saurians into submission as the ducks tied them up together.

The female stared at Duke who approached her with ropes, a bit torn between feeling happy that he had the upper hand and apprehensive that she would start a fight, for she seemed unwilling to cooperate.

To his surprise, she pushed past him and towards the two Saurians before kneeling down next to them, hands on her lap, head bowed, silent.

None of the others dared restrain her.

Agents began pouring into the warehouse, the droids no longer moving and impeding the advancement.

The arrival of Agent Belle and Super Intendant Matthews gave the ducks an answer that they were not expecting.

"Lady Nightbloom Calla'Lilly. I understand you were Lord Mai's inside source planet side."

The female Saurian gave one short nod as the other two male Saurians shouted in outrage.

Duke felt his jaw drop as the other ducks were just equally stunned at seeing the human approach the Saurian and bow before her before extending his hand to help her stand up.

"I was also told by some of the teams that you assisted them topside, taking down droids that were blocking in some of the soldiers."

"It was an honor, Super Intendant." Nightbloom lowered her head and bowed, left hand clasped over her right fist, held up to her chest. "My methods were a bit unorthodox in your eyes, but the results were what we wanted."

"Unorthodox!" shouted Duke. "We lost a team mate to the dimensional limbo!"

The female blinked at him as she stood up. "He was recovered once, L'Orange," she said, catching him off guard that she knew his name. "I have no doubts that he will be recoverable once more. Or do you have little faith in him?" Duke didn't know how to take the small smirk she gave him, and that glint in her eye that made it seem as if she knew something he didn't.

Matthews turned to the ducks. "We will have a debriefing tomorrow at 1600 hours. We have a massive clean up to start. Miss Nightbloom, I understand that you had a chance to look at the dimensional portal and may be able to replicate it?"

"Affirmative. I am confident we can get a working model in a year that will allow for travel and begin an exploration and trade of other worlds." She turned back to glance at the ducks behind her. "And for others to finally visit… or return… to their home world."

The ducks looked amongst each other. They were still a bit thrown by the news they were receiving, but at the same time, if what the female was saying was true… the thought of going home gave them the biggest relief they had ever felt.

A huge battle won once more, and now they had the promise of seeing the home. Losses that may not be true losses. A potential ally.

Things were looking up.

X

Canard sighed as he floated through the quiet space. Several yards away, he could make out the muffled sounds of Dragaunus yelling at him, flapping around. Most likely attempting to swim his way to him through space.

He supposed that it was a small blessing that the dimensional limbo was horrible at letting sounds travel. He would need to be closer to hear what Dragaunus was saying, or shouting, and he was happy to do without it.

He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep.

But not even a few moments later, he heard the sound of humming engine.

His eyes popped open to see an enormous ship coming his way.

A ship with a familiar symbol.

Canard grinned.

X

**_One Month Later_ **

Nosedive lay sprawled on the couch, reading one of his comic books. He heard the door open to the newly rebuilt and refurbished rec room, decked out in the new colors his team was going to be wearing in the next hockey season. It was taking some getting used to.

Curiosity got the better of him and he sat up to see Mallory and Nightbloom entering the room.

It still struck him as odd to have a Saurian residing in their headquarters, but as she was assigned to stay on the planet until the assembly of the dimensional portal was complete, Wildwing made the choice to offer her a room.

None of them were thrilled with that choice, especially Duke.

But Nosedive found himself doing his best to support his brother with his decision. Especially after the Saurian had turned to him and apologized.

"Forgive me, hatchling," she had said back at the warehouse. "I used you to cloud Dragaunus's judgment. Canard's actions in the beginning were not completely of his own. I manipulated him too."

"But where's Canard?"

"Do not worry, young one. I'm sure in time you will be reunited with your friend. After all, he escaped dimensional limbo once."

She then shed her appearance for a very different one. Gone was the dark purple and green outfit, having been modelled to something similar to what Dragaunus's team wore. She had something similar to the Asian culture of the earth, and the Madarin race of Puckworld, done in shades of lilac and jade. It gave her a softer appearance. And her lack of emotions drove him to want to make her react, leading to plenty of time spent with her much to the bafflement of the others.

But for now, the apprehension of seeing Tanya was killing him.

Despite her cold attitude, she willingly went with Mallory and Tanya for the robust female's makeover.

And upon hearing their arrival, the other ducks were coming out of hiding.

Nightbloom just looked at them and glided across the rec room towards their resting area. "The mission was successful," she said, before disappearing down the hall.

Mallory snorted. "Not a mission! She treated it like it was though." She turned to the entrance way. "Tanya, come on! You look great!" She turned to the others. "I couldn't get her to completely ditch her old style of clothes but we're gonna get there."

Tanya shuffled in and the mallard's jaws dropped at the new look Tanya was sporting.

Tanya's face went dark as she flushed in embarrassment with the scrutiny.

Gone was the tall hair that resembled a wheat bundle, now cut short and pixie like. With the length gone, it turned out she had a bit of a wave that created a somewhat tousled look. Gone were her large glasses, having been replaced by a slimmer pair.

And gone was the one piece suit that practically defined Tanya. She wore a khaki cargo style capris, a form fitting black shirt, and a jacket done out in a couple different colors of white, orange, and black.

"Looking nice, Tawny!" whistled Duke.

Tanya flew to her room with an embarrassed, "You guys are too much!"

But she paused in front of her mirror and took in her new look.

Mallory was right.

She felt different. As if a new chapter was opening up on her life. And maybe, on the life of the others. And it felt good.

X

In a room filled with rows of occupied chairs, a woman stood at a podium, addressing a crowd. Posters marked HO and Anti-aliens littered the room.

"People of Earth!" she was shouting. "Our government is betraying us by inviting these aliens in! We must stand firm and urge them to drive these invaders out by whatever means necessary!"

People cheered.

"We will be heard. We will be known. We will make our message clear, even if it means using the supposed heroes as examples!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we reached the end of the second virtual season. Finally. So… will there be a season three? It won't be updated often but I will continue. I have other projects I'm working on which slows down my MD stuff… Not to mention my original intention completely changed halfway through part one. For those curious… what changed was the reference to the impending alien invasion. Again, I made the decision to make the next season a bit more grown up, in terms of language and themes, but nowhere near as dark as my Alternate Lives story. I have such a hard time keeping language rated g, lol. Plus I wanted a better reason to introduce different aliens than the Mary Sue-esque thing of having them come in like the Ducks did. And Young Justice gave me an idea too. So… hopefully the following season will still live up to old fans standards and be all exciting and new. Until later!

**Author's Note:**

> So just some tidbits of info... this has been the longest set I've started in the whole series. And chapter 3... which needs edits, is like 6 pages longer on Microsoft. According to AO3 I have 4674 characters left to use... 6 pages will probably use that all up so the final part might be posted in two parts. We will find out when it comes time to that. Even though all parts are now written up, I have to go through edits in the second and then start the third. Yay. 
> 
> And now for the post credits. :)
> 
>  _ **90 minutes later**_  
>  Emergency doors burst open as a man was wheeled inside. A tuft of red hair was visible as doctors and nurses were administering injections, holding an oxygen mask, and piling blankets and holding IV's.
> 
> "He's in shock!" One doctor shouted.
> 
> "The OR is clear!" shouted another.
> 
> The team pushed their way into the emergency operating room.
> 
> Following behind but stopping short was Wildwing, still wearing his mask, and a distraught looking Dive.
> 
> "Please wait in the waiting room," said a nurse. "A doctor will be out as soon as he can give you some news."
> 
> Wildwing gently guided his brother out as he removed his mask. Where did they go wrong?
> 
> X
> 
> Danny woke up to the sound of a pounding door. Shuffling his way to the entrance, he opened it up, his sleepiness and confusion giving way to dread as he spotted two armed police officers standing there with grim faces.
> 
> They took their hats off and spoke.
> 
> As Danny heard their words, he grasped the door frame, his other hand clutching his chest.
> 
> Both officers surged forward to catch the young man before he could collapse to the floor.


End file.
